The Karate Kid
by snsdtaenyfan13
Summary: The Karate Kid 2010 remake from Cheng's POV. Rated T for some language, a scene of romance between Dre and Meiying, and much anticipated violence. DISCONTINUED. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read the P.S.S. on the Final Author's Note.
1. Incident at the Park

Chapter One

"Incident" at the Park

"Cheng," Feng, the tallest, and oldest (what, with being fifteen-years-old) member of my friends from Kung Fu interrupted me. I stopped looking at Mei Ying for a moment.

"What?" I snapped in Chinese, harsher than usually than I was with my best friend (well, my best friend out of my Kung Fu friends). Feng seemed a bit edgy about something, as if he were going to commit to a crime; he ran his hair ruefully through his buzz-cut.

"I think you should ask her out."

I dropped my iPod as I gaped at Feng, as did Ce, Liang (the most caring, for some reason; I was surprised he was the most caring because he was the second deadliest fighter of The Fighting Dragon dojo), Yun, and Yi.

"Feng... our parents would consider it dishonorable; for one, we are too young. How many twelve-year-olds do you know that go out?" I responded shakily.

"Hmm, let me see," Feng said sardonically, "Taylor and Henry-,"

"Other, than Americans. How many _Chinese_ twelve-year-olds do you know that go out?" I interrupted him, raising my hand. Feng fell silent.

"Exactly," I retorted triumphantly. "Anyway... I'm not worthy enough... for... her."

"But you love her," Feng said softly. I groaned.

"Please don't," I pleaded. "She doesn't love me back... we're best friends... but nothing more than that. She would say no, and I... I won't be able to handle the pain."

A smile began forming its way across Ce's face.

"But you won't stop trying, you won't stop loving her. You'll make her yours," Ce beamed. I grinned.

"Always," I grinned at my younger friend reaching out to ruffle his ebony hair that stuck out in every direction affectionately.

I continued to stare at Mei Ying as she gently began rubbing her bow against the tightly bound strings of her mahogany violin. I sighed lovingly, it was the violin I had given her for Christmas last month... and she was _still_ using it. Maybe there was hope.

Her fingers gracefully danced across the neck of the violin; producing the most beautiful and perfectly choreographed melody my ears had ever heard. Closing my eyes in bliss, I listened to the breathtaking singing of her violin.

"Mei Ying... you are so beautiful... and the best musician I have ever met... you're going to get into the Beijing Academy of Music for sure..." I murmured, pretending to be listening to my iPod as my friends goofed around behind me.

I gazed into her hazel eyes, which were tinged with a strange but beautiful mixture of jade and grey, and were currently filled with fixation and concentration. This girl was so perfect in everyway... devoted, kind, gorgeous, brilliant, humble, selfless, honorable, respectful, shy, caring, lovable, affectionate, funny, irresistible and a magnificent musician... if I couldn't have her, then I had to make sure the most deserving boy in the world received her, no less.

Her pale but olive toned skin skillfully contrasted with her smooth complexion and raven hair, which at the moment, fell around her in a bundle, two small ponytails emitting from each end.

"Mei Ying..." I murmured again. She looked around wildly before her eyes narrowed and her warm eyes met my cold, sable ones.

"I know you're spying on me Cheng," She said in beautifully clear Chinese, before we both burst out into laughter.

I leapt out of the bush I was hiding behind and my friends, realizing the act was over, stood up and brushed themselves off.

"Come on Mei Ying, you know you love it when I do," I smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I also love it when you get in trouble in class for doing it."

I mocked pain.

"You wound me deeply, Mei," I said dramatically, clutching my heart as she giggled.

"Cheng I told you, I'll never have feelings for you, but you're still my best friend," Mei Ying said with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips until she gave in and beamed fully.

"You are too Mei, and I told you, I'll never give up."

"You're impossible," Mei Ying replied. "Now be quiet, I have to practice."

I smiled and sat down next to her on the bench she was practicing at. My friends wolf-whistled as I gawked at Mei Ying, and I rolled my eyes, blushing slightly.

"Awww, is our little Cheng in love?" Mei Ying teased.

"Our _big_ Cheng is in love," I corrected her and she laughed before taking my hand. A warm, bubbly feeling ran up my hand.

"I'm sorry that I can't," She whispered once before playing the violin again. I watched her with a smile, hiding my agony. My heart pulsed with sorrow at her words, but I wasn't discouraged, and I never would be.

"Do you want to come over today?" I asked her as she began packing up her violin.

"That depends, if Yi's staying then I'm not," Mei Ying responded thoughtfully, as she clipped her glossy, ginger case.

"Aw, come on, you know you love him!" I said with a laugh as Mei Ying shook her head fervently. "Well he's not anyway (neither is Yun); he's got a basketball game. Are you still mad at him because he accidently slipped and kissed you?"

My voice slipped into a growl, and I too, was upset that he had, even though I knew he had not done it deliberately. At that Mei Ying spit and wiped her lips.

"Yes, and you are too. Now, can Shangxiang and Yue come over?" Mei Ying asked me, looking up from under her dark, striking, fringe of eyelashes, batting them as she did so. For a moment, I lost myself in her chocolate eyes, subconsciously taking her hand.

"Sure, Shangyue and Xiang can come over," I said, entirely mesmerized by her beauty.

"You're staring!" Mei Ying accused playfully with a giggle.

"Am not!" I pulled my hand away from hers with a blush. Suddenly, without warning, Mei Ying playfully shoved me into a nearby pile of mud. I blinked in utter bewilderment, staring up at her, still assessing what had just happened.

"Now you are!" She chuckled, covering her mouth. She looked so adorable when she did that. I grinned manically for a moment before tackling her.

"Hey!" She protested as mud covered her as well. She and I wrestled, each throwing clumps of mud at each other, before falling over and laughing. We looked at each other for a moment and simultaneously burst out, "I win!"

"Oh no you don't!" I said, sitting on top of her (but careful as so she wouldn't carry any of my weight) waist and pinning her wrists down in one supple motion. I grinned as she struggled vainly before giving up.

"I win," I said triumphantly, leaning close to her face. She smiled charmingly before kissing my cheek. I was so taken aback (but certainly pleased) by this (and the feel of her gentle, warm lips on my cheek) I didn't have time to react as she rolled around and replaced our positions.

"No fair! You cheated!" I whined like a five-year-old as she laughed. She tweaked my nose and a tingly feeling shot from my head to my toes.

"Not my fault you're _easily distracted_," Mei Ying smirked. I gaped.

"Am not! That wasn't easily distracted, that was distracted because of _assault_."

"Aw, come on," Yi's jeering voice called from behind us. "Don't pretend you didn't love it! Like the way you love the feeling of her on you right now!"

Mei Ying leapt off me.

"Ew! Gross!" She said, though she was blushing profoundly. I smiled widely when I saw this.

"Somebody has a crush!" Yun sang as Liang smiled though he didn't comment.

"NO!" Mei Ying roared and tackled Yun.

Eventually I had to drag Mei Ying off; though I waited a reasonably long time- it was exceptionally fun watching Mei Ying slather Yun in mud.

"Okay, okay! Relax Mei Ying!" I tried to soothe Mei Ying as she struggled against me (a feeling I particularly enjoyed).

"Let's just go home okay?" I said once Mei Ying had calmed herself and her ragged breathing down.

"That doesn't sound wrong at all," Yi leered. That was the last thing he said, before Mei Ying chased him throughout Beijing.

* * *

"I seriously can't believe that happened! How can you chase him right into his basketball game, where it's tied, forty-six to forty-six, and you chase him right into a person, he get's the ball, and you chase him again, and he get's scared so he jumps up and slams the ball through the basket (and hangs on it) and scores a point? Just _how_ does that happen?" Feng nearly bellowed as he jogged excitedly around, in front, and behind us.

"Relax for once, okay?" Shangxiang pleaded, grabbing his hand and clutching it tightly in her grasp. I had almost forgotten that they were dating, but when he bent down to kiss her forehead, earning several wolf-whistles, it just _seemed_ to jog my memory.

"Why don't you ever hold my hand?" Yue demanded of Liang who smiled timidly and snaked an arm around her waist.

"You do it and I'll kill you," Mei Ying warned me as I moved my hand towards her waist.

"Can I at least hold your hand?" I pleaded Mei Ying who sighed and was about to switch her violin case to her other hand when I grabbed it. My dear Mei didn't need this burden.

"I'll carry it," I said, clutching the glossy case in my left hand while I gently wound my right fingers through her left.

"Isn't it heavy?" Mei Ying wondered aloud. I snorted, it was barely noticeable.

"Do you think I go to all those Kung Fu classes to get weaker?" I replied. Ce smiled, and I smiled back, even though he was the smallest and youngest of us, he was the third-most deadly of my friends. The little ten-year-old was radiant, and even though he was the only one without a girl to hold onto, he was young, so he didn't mind.

"You really have to stop smiling little kid," I grinned affectionately at Ce and punched his chin lightly, removing my hand from Mei Ying for a second before I jerked it back to gently wrap around her hand again.

"Well you really have to stop grimacing Cheng," Ce retorted and I pretended to flinch back.

"Well you really have to let go of my hand so I can unlock the door for you, you left it at my house yester- oh my!" Mei Ying exclaimed, dropping my hand and letting that hand dash up to cover her mouth.

"What?" I asked concernedly, swiftly but softly dropping her violin case to dash around in front of her and gently grasp her elbows.

"Your parents will be home in thirty minutes! And we're covered in mud! There isn't enough time to turn on the switch to get warm water!" Mei Ying nearly cried. Suddenly a smile made its way across my face.

"What?" Mei Ying said suspiciously.

"I can run to the Olympic City and back in twenty-five minutes!" I answered gleefully.

"What's your- oh! The water fountains in front!" Mei Ying recalled.

"And here I thought you had a brain," I said, crouching down so she could jump onto my back. When she did, I caught her agilely, and after making sure she was securely on, I took off. Mei Ying weighed barely anything (well, at least from my point of view) so I sprinted as swift as I usually would.

I smiled as the wind rushed through my hair and caressed my face, and I beamed even more at the fact that Mei Ying was on my back, her soft body pressing against mine... the warmth...

I leapt off the wall in the Kung Fu style Master Li had taught me and Mei Ying screamed as I laughed.

"Don't be a girl!" I called back to her as I dodged a watermelon cart.

"I am one!" Mei Ying screamed back, screaming again as I slid on my knees under a rickshaw.

"Next time, when we go back, can you take a safer route?" Mei Ying pleaded.

"Maybe," I called back with a smirk. Mei Ying rolled her arms before removing them from around my neck and throwing them up in the air.

"Yay!" Mei Ying yelled as I got close to the Olympic City fountains, and I relished the fact that I could make her content, even at little things like this.

"Stupid kids!" An old man roared as I nearly knocked over his bicycle when I sprinted by.

"Sorry!" Mei Ying called back. I skidded to a halt as we arrived at the Olympic City fountains.

"Jump in and stand in a fountain or something!" I yelled as Mei Ying jumped off my back and I took my own advice. Mei Ying followed suit.

"Cheng, why are you smil-?" Mei Ying began but I darted forward and picked her up bridal-style this time.

"Cheng! People will think we're dating!" Mei Ying objected, though she clung to me.

"That's the idea!"

Mei Ying groaned and rolled her eyes. This time the exhilarating ride was longer, because, as I had promised Mei Ying, we took a longer but safer route.

"Did you hear?" Mei Ying asked, looking up at me.

"What?" I asked as I bounded over a pipe.

"There's a new kid coming to town. He's American and from Detroit," Mei Ying answered, a strange, elated glint in her eyes. I spit disgustedly.

"What?"

I snorted. It was obvious.

"An American again? It's going to be a Henry **(A/N: I know Dre has a friend named Harry, but Cheng is talking about someone else called HENRY, please don't get them mixed up)**all over again, no friends, gets beat up by us, then suddenly learns Chinese and gets friends and a girlfriend- at too young of an age," I added on as an afterthought.

"Liang has a girlfriend," Mei Ying pointed out. I shrugged, smiling slightly as her body came closer to me when I did so.

"Liang is thirteen, turning fourteen in June," I retorted.

"Which is, six months from now, five not including this month," Mei Ying shot back.

"Why are you defending the little American filth?"

I felt Mei Ying stiffen.

"I'm not, just saying, it's not nice to assume things. And by the way, his name is Dre Parker."

"Does that make a difference?" I sniggered. "Still labeled fresh meat from my point of view."

"Can you _please_ at least, try to be friends with him? Or at least not attack him?" Mei Ying pleaded. "He's allegedly small for his age, and I feel bad."

"Fine. But if he flirts with you he's dead," I grinned at the thought.

"Can you not be a jerk?"

I laughed.

"You say it like it's possible," I joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. That worked, Mei Ying giggled.

"We're here, quick grab your violin case and get inside," I said to Mei Ying as she leapt off and I fumbled for my keys.

"That was slow, were you guys making-out or something?" Feng teased. That was the last thing he said before all three girls slapped him. I grinned.

"No, but does that answer your question to the fullest?" I smirked.

"Yes," Feng replied irritably, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Get inside!" I hissed at my friends as I unlocked the door. I was sure I had seen the headlights of a shiny black Mercedes SL sixty-five; my father's car.

Shangxiang and Feng immediately took a seat on the couch, holding hands while watching the T.V. and Liang and Yue did so as well. Ce, Mei Ying, and I glanced at each other.

"Mahjong?" I offered, grabbing the board out of the table.

"Sure," Mei Ying agreed.

"I'll watch," Ce said with a smile. I knew if he played, that none of us had a chance of winning, even if we were all on the same team.

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood the get my but kicked by a ten-year-old anyway," I agreed.

I pulled up the board and scattered the pieces, removing some of them. Mei Ying questioned me with a raised eyebrow. She looked so cute when she did that.

"Our parents will have to think we've been playing for a while," I explained as comprehension dawned on her face and she and I picked up from where we should have been.

Thankfully, we both had moved at least once (it was a good thing because it would look a little suspicious if my parents had walked in and found us staring perplexedly at the game without either of us knowing where we left off even though we'd apparently been playing for a while) before my parents walked in.

"Who's winning?" My father asked as he hung up his coat and helped my mother out of hers; he was unsurprised to see my friends and Mei Ying here.

"I am," Mei Ying sang. I just noticed how superior of a singer Mei Ying would make.

"You know, you would make a pretty good singer," I said to Mei Ying and my mother nodded in agreement.

"No," Mei Ying protested in a whining tone. My father laughed and lightly patted her head as he walked passed us then upstairs to his room. My mother on the other hand, ruffled Ce's hair and mine before asking, "Who's hungry?"

That was all that was needed.

"Can I have some baozi [a white bun filled with barbequed meat]?" Feng yelled as Shangxiang nodded in agreement.

"I want gong pao jiding [kung pao chicken]!" Liang said softly as Yue agreed.

"I want lor mai kai [a special type of rice]!" Ce bellowed.

"Char siu [barbequed pork], ma!" I yelled.

"Zhengjiao [steamed dumplings], Aunt Xia!" Mei Ying called and everyone cheered.

"Ok so a plate of baozi, a plate of gong pao jiding, a plate of lor mai kai, a plate of char siu, and a plate of zhengjiao?" My mom called from the kitchen, trying to recall what we had said.

"Yeah!" We all yelled back hungrily.

"Now I can't concentrate on playing," I complained, my mind stuck on massive dishes stacked high with mouthwatering, scrumptious smelling, food.

"Yes, now I can win!" Mei Ying said elatedly, pumping a small, adorable fist into the air.

"Concentrating again," I replied, laughing as Mei Ying's face fell. Mei Ying leaned in and deliberately touched our noses. I gaped; the smooth feeling of her warm skin on mine, the sweet, cherry smell radiating off of her... it was too much to ask of someone.

"You've got me distracted!" I gasped as Mei Ying pulled away with a victorious smirk.

"Good, dinner is ready though," Mei Ying noted as she noticed my mother placing trays of food down.

"YAY!" Everyone cheered and ran to pile their plates. I smiled at my friends and stared at Mei Ying, laughing as she stuffed her mouth with zhengjiao. No one could ask for a better night, or better friends.

* * *

That night when I went to bed, I was entirely content- today Mei Ying had been on my back, in my arms, on top of me, under me, holding my hand... And tomorrow after school, I had a delivery, a fresh packet of meat labeled 'Dre Parker'.

* * *

"Cheng! Wake up!" My mother called. I opened my eyes as a warm ray of sunshine beamed and hit my face. I shut my eyes tightly again as I yawned and forced myself out of bed. I reopened my eyes when I was out of range of sunlight. I scratched my bare chest tiredly and sauntered into the bathroom to take a shower. Taking off my boxers, I soared agilely into the shower and began fumbling with the switch. I waited thirty minutes, dazedly trying to keep myself awake as I waited for the water to warm up.

I groaned in relief as the steaming water from the showerhead pounded on my back, relieving my sore and stiff muscles. The warmth from the shower suddenly reminded me of the warm feeling of Mei Ying on my back... I loved that.

When I had fully sanitized myself, I stepped ruefully out of the shower and pulled a towel around my waist. Grumbling tiredly in Chinese I strode into my bedroom again and looked around my closet for proper attire. I finally decided on a midnight striped with pallid polo, denim jeans, and my white sneakers. While I searched for my digital watch I heard my mom call up the stairs, "Breakfast is ready!"

After I secured my watch on my wrist I bounded down the stairs in cheery, but tired spirits. As I sat down, fighting my heavy eyelids, at the table, my mother handed me a bowl of Yin Ming's cereal.

"I didn't know whether you wanted Coco Puffs or Yin Ming's," My mother said with a shrug.

"Yin Ming's is mine," I replied, munching steadily on the cereal, relishing the cold milk in my mouth. As soon as I drained my bowl of cereal, I placed it in the sink and sprinted upstairs again. I brushed my teeth quickly, before grabbing my back pack and running downstairs.

"See you later mom!" I called, kissing my mom swiftly on the cheek, giving my father a fleeting, one-armed hug as he bounded into the kitchen. "Bye dad!"

I whistled a cheery tune as I waited for the rickshaw to come.

"Hey, Cheng!" Several voiced greeted me from an oncoming rickshaw.

"Hey guys!" I called back as I shot onto the rickshaw. Ce, Yun, Yi, Feng, and Liang all gave me a one-armed hug as the rickshaw driver continued to jog at a brisk pace.

"How can he carry so many kids on one rickshaw?" I wondered aloud, listening to the heavy panting the man emitted as he clutched the rickshaw handles tighter and ran swifter.

"Probably does Kung Fu."

We laughed and joked and shoved each other throughout the ride, constantly irritating the rickshaw driver. When we leapt off the rickshaw in front of our school, I paid the man extra for our nonsense.

"Shi-shi [Thank you]," The man thanked me, raising the thick fold of renminbi as he did so.

"Bú yòng xiè [You don't have to thank me for that]," I replied with a wave.

"Come on Cheng! We're going to be late!" Liang complained. I rolled my eyes.

"You worry too much about studying," I responded but we all followed him up the steps and took a right into the classroom. Mei Ying seemed to be happy about something, and I was unsure what, but she looked sweet when she bit her bottom lip like that.

"Ni-hao [Hello]," Mei Ying greeted me. I smiled and took the seat next to her.

"Ni-hao, Kěài de nǚháim [Hello adorable girl]," I grinned. Mei Ying blushed faintly and rolled her eyes while Feng wolf-whistled. Mrs. Qiao cleared her throat meaningfully.

"Are you done flirting, Cheng?" She demanded as I blushed and everyone else howled with laugher. Mei Ying giggled.

"Yes, Mrs. Qiao," I said, glaring at my shoes.

"So you can answer me this: What year did Sun Ce die and of what cause?" My history teacher continued. I smiled and looked up- The Era of the Three Kingdoms was my area of expertise in History.

"He died on April fifth, two-hundred A.D., due to assassination."

"Good," Mrs. Qiao replied, looking a bit disgruntled that her plan to see if I had been paying attention failed. I smirked. I didn't pay attention for most of the class; however, I did manage to answer several questions correctly.

I actually fell asleep after the teacher stopped quizzing me, and it took several shakes from Mei Ying and the bell to ring to wake me from my slumber.

"Shíjiān yǐjīng shì tā [Is it time already]?" I muttered as I got up from my desk.

"Yes, it's already time to go to our next class," Mei Ying answered, supporting as me as I rubbed my eyes.

"Let's go," I replied, walking unsteadily.

"Mr. Sun, Ms. Ying, you are ten minutes late," Mr. Jian inquired as we sprinted to our Phys Ed class.

"Wǒmen de qiànyì [Our apologies]," Mei Ying apologized. Mr. Jian grumbled.

"Mei Ying, you haven't been late for class before, _ever_, so I'll let you off with a warning. Cheng, I'm deducting points from you," Mr. Jian said to me and I nodded silently, making faces when he turned back to the class. Mei Ying giggled.

We took our respective positions, and I groaned when Mr. Jian announced what we were going to do.

"All right, we need to be more physically active, and this is China, where art and beauty shine... we will be working on a dancing unit for the next three weeks."

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath.

"Ānjìng [Be quiet]," Mei Ying shushed me.

"So, we will play music and there will be moves for each number, this is one-" Mr. Jian struck a ridiculous pose "-this is two-" another ridiculous pose...

Mr. Jian continued showing us ridiculous positions and we giggled or at least tried to stifle our laughs throughout the class.

"Now you will be trying it out starting tomorrow," Mr. Jian called to us as the bell rang and everyone ran.

"Finally, it's time for lunch," I sang, my stomach grumbling. Mei Ying laughed.

"Can you think about anything but food?"

"Yes, you and Kung Fu."

Mei Ying rolled her eyes.

"Not happening."

"Not giving up."

"Oi, Mei Ying! Xiǎobudiǎn er [pipsqueak]!" Feng called.

"Shénme, Dà jiǎo guài [What, Bigfoot]?" I called back. Feng rolled his eyes.

"Come sit by us when you're done filling your trays."

"Okay!" Mei Ying and I called back in unison. We both grabbed the garbage-green plastic trays, wooden chopsticks, and desert bowls and piled our trays with wonton, chaomein, haam yu, yu qi tong, and filled the desert bowl with yuebing.

"Should we get the Coco Aloe drink or the bottle of chocolate milk?" I asked Mei Ying when we arrived at a section with several colored bottles of different drinks in a chamber of ice cubes.

"The Coco Aloe, Shangxiang said it was really good," Mei Ying replied, grabbing a bottle for herself and handing me one. We walked back to the table where Feng, Shangxiang, Yue, Yun, Yi, Ce, and Liang waited for us.

"Hey didn't you forget something today?" I teased Mei Ying who slapped her forehead.

"My violin! My tutor will be so mad..." Mei Ying worried. I touched her hand lightly to gain her attention.

"Just skip your class and practice at the park today," I said with a shrug.

"I guess that could work..."

Liang, Mei Ying, and I slurped our chaomein in silence and ate the rest of our meals whilst everyone else goofed around.

"Ugh," I groaned as we returned our trays to the dirty dish bin.

"What?" Mei Ying asked me as we walked through the pure-concrete hallways.

"We have English after this!"

* * *

"My head hurts," I commented as my friends and I walked to the park.

"Well it's your fault your English is terrible," Liang said with a shrug.

"Oh, thanks for the support, Liang," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Liang laughed quietly.

Mei Ying left us to go sit on the park bench and began producing sweet melodies from her violin again.

"Let's play basketball," Yi suggested.

"Nah, that new kid, Dre is playing," Yun replied.

"Tag then," I suggested and everybody cheered.

"Not it!" Everybody yelled simultaneously but Liang was a little bit behind.

"Liang is it!" I bellowed as we all sprinted away. I heard Liang swear mutedly before chasing Feng. I looked up and noticed Mei Ying was actually portraying interest in the basketball game- since when did she care about basketball. I was hiding behind a bush and there was no way Liang could find me, so I watched the game too. It was going well until the new kid, Dre, messed up and hurled the ball five feet above the basket and missed by a large amount of degrees. The basketball players fell silent and stared at Dre as Mei Ying and I laughed silently.

"'Sup! 'Sup!" Dre said loudly, trying to amend. "My shooting arm's got a little jet lag so..."

Dre couldn't find any good excuses so he turned and left from the game when a small, white ping pong ball bounced against his shoes. He picked it up and looked around before he spotted the expert old man holding up his ping pong paddle.

Dre pointed at the old man with the ball who nodded. Suddenly, Dre noticed Mei Ying and I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists, debating whether or not to use Kung Fu on Dre.

"You want this?" Dre asked in a false brave voice, and I realized he was trying to show off for Mei Ying. I fell deeper into the bush, trying to control my hysterical fits of laughter.

"You know, where I come from, they call me ping pong Dre, and I haven't got a problem beating old people," Dre continued in the same mocking tone, taking the paddle from the old man offering it to him. He faced the other old man.

"Now I'm going to go easy on you," Dre said steadily, raising the paddle and hitting the ball lightly. The old man swatted it back as lightly and Dre hit it slightly harder the next time, scoring a point. Suddenly, something pooled in the man's eyes, and I realized he wasn't going to mess around with Dre anymore. I grinned, ready to see what he would do to the new boy.

The old man slowly and dramatically threw the ball up, and with a powerful flick of his wrist, he crashed the ball with extreme force, it bounced of Dre and he grunted in pain.

"OW!" Dre complained as two more balls slammed into him with great vigor.

"C'mon man!" Dre cried shakily as three more balls whacked him. "I'm, I'm twelve!"

Finally Dre crouched and clenched his limbs tightly together and raised the paddle in front of his face. The ball bounced off the paddle.

"Hah, woo oooh!" Dre said with a frightened but successful expression before cowering behind his paddle again. Realizing the fun was over; I got up from the bush and joined in the game again.

"Aw come on! I was distracted!" Ce protested as Yun tagged him. Ce sprinted at me then stopped to look at Mei Ying.

I followed his gaze as everyone else continued sprinting. On Harry's encouragement, Dre had gotten up and gone to talk Mei Ying.

"Hey... what's up?" Dre said to a puzzled Mei Ying.

"Oh right... no English, um," Dre squinted and buried his face in his hands, straining to remember what little Chinese he knew. Dre totally butchered the language.

"Knee-hao-mao... Muje-" Dre began with a tortured expression, realizing he was doing something wrong. Mei Ying giggled and I laughed.

"What language was _that_?" Mei Ying snorted.

"You speak English? Me too!" Dre exclaimed, forgetting such obvious things in his distraction. I growled, I knew Mei Ying was beautiful and distracting but he didn't have to stare like that.

"So what are you listening to?" Dre asked her as Mei Ying removed her single headphone.

"Paa," She replied, smiling at him. I snarled. There was something in her eyes... that I hadn't seen Mei Ying express for anyone else when she looked at them... what was that unfathomable expression?

"Paa," Dre said, totally lying and unfamiliar with the term, he continued, "I listen to them all the time, they're tight, but how about this?"

Dre took out his cell phone, jabbed a button and handed it to Mei Ying who bit her lower lip and bobbed her head to the music. She looked so adorable.

"So you like that, huh?" He said, starting to break dance and do several complex moves. I laughed and obliged when Ce called us.

Ce turned his hat backwards and did a horrible but humorous imitation of Dre- he had his hands in a light, loose double knife stance and he shook his head so hard his cheeks jiggled, he rotated another direction and did the same. My friends and I let out loud hoots of amusement as we watched Ce imitate Dre.

Mei Ying looked at him with a peculiar expression before asking in a soft, timid voice, "May I touch your hair?"

I had just noticed his long brunette hair was in several thin braids. How strange.

"You want to... touch, my _hair_?" Dre asked with an incredulous expression. Mei Ying bit her lower lip and nodded. Dre rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Um... okay?" Dre said, bending forward so she could rub his hair between two of her slender fingers. She touched his hair softly, and that same tender expression was back in her eyes... affection? Why would she feel affection for that American crap?

Infuriated and seething with envy, I stormed forward. Dre immediately moved away from Mei Ying when he saw me, his eyes widened in fear.

"Nǐ yīnggāi liànxí [You should be practicing]," I growled at Mei Ying who looked up at me with a playful smile.

"Wǒ [I am]," Mei Ying responded with a smile. I curled my lip over my teeth before slamming the music sheets from her hands.

"Shénme shì nǐ de wèntí [What's your problem]!" Mei Ying stood up and shoved me.

"Leave it!" I snarled at Dre who bent down to pick up the music sheets. He brought them back up and I slammed them out of his hands again.

"C'mon dude!" Dre cried as he bent down to pick up the sheets.

"Nǐ yīnggāi liànxí, rúguǒ nǐ xiǎng jìnrù běijīng zhōngyāng yīnyuè xuéyuàn [You should be practicing if you want to get into the Beijing Academy of Music]," I snarled as Dre brought the sheets up again. I slammed them out of his hands.

"I said _leave it_!"

Dre bent down and picked up the sheets again. I slammed them down, but he swiftly moved the sheets out of my area of reach. I met his irritated auburn eyes for a moment before forcing the sheets out of his hands, throwing them on the floor, and slapping him into the concrete.

Dre got up and got into a weak fighting stance- a Karate stance.

I grinned at Ce who jerked his head towards Dre. I hadn't noticed he remained in his stance; this piece of crap wanted to fight me? So be it. I beckoned him forward, curling my fingers forward twice impatiently. The African American lunged at me, and I took Master Li's advice immediately, doing a simple sweep kick.

Dre fell face forward onto the floor, coughing and spitting. He looked up at Mei Ying who struggled against Yi and Yun, holding her back. Dre's eyes darted to Ce who, egging him on, knowing I would win said, "Go get him! Go, go get him!"

The poor, unknowing boy turned back to me.

I smirked at him. He lunged again and I crouched down, wrapped my arms around his shins, and flipped him behind me. He landed harshly on his back. I smiled in pleasure as I heard the snap of his spinal cord.

"Chéng qǐng, shì hélǐ de. Tā shì xīn de, tā bù zhīdào nǐ shì shuí huò nǐ xǐhuan Meiying, wǒ gǎn kěndìng, tā bù huì yǔ tā cā jiān ér guò, rúguǒ tā zhīdào[Cheng please, be reasonable He's new he doesn't know who you are or that you liked Meiying, I'm sure he wouldn't have flirted with he if he knew]-," Harry tried to reason with me but I held up a hand. I had no patience with him, on _his_ encouragement had Dre done this.

"Líkāi [Leave]!" I growled at Harry, pointing away from... me. Harry held up his hand and joined his group of friends.

I spit at Dre as he lie on the floor. He forced himself up and glowered at me whilst I sneered at him. He wiped the tears out of his eyes and tightened his stance.

I punched Dre tightly in his gut, then his unprotected face, before pulling my hands back and kicking him square in the torso. Dre flew back on the floor.

"Still want to fight?" I growled menacingly at him.

Suddenly he flew forward, his fist made contact with my jaw, and the uncertainty of it all made me fall backwards, flat on my back. I jumped up immediately, without using my hands, and snarled at him. Dre tightened his stance once again and glared at me. I kicked his stance away, punches his face, his chest, kicked his neck, grabbed him, and spun him into a flip over my back. Satisfied was an understatement of how I felt when a sickening crack emitting from his spine sounded.

I wasn't done, he insulted me, hit me, and had flirted with _my_ Mei Ying. I sat on his waist, and raised my fist threateningly. I suddenly remembered the time when Mei Ying and I had been wrestling in the mud yesterday... and how I had hesitated my weight so she wouldn't feel it, but with Dre, I made sure he felt my entire body mass. However, as I was pondering this, this made me hesitate for a second before I harshly smacked Dre's left eye.

Mei Ying finally broke free of Yi and Yun's deadlock hold and ran forward and shoved me off of Dre.

"Dàodǐ shì shénme [What the _hell_ was that]!" Mei Ying bellowed. I shrugged, grinning as my friends ran forward and high-fived me. We all walked away from the park with smug expressions as I felt Mei Ying's eyes boring into the back of my skull. I felt immensely bad, not for hurting Dre, but for hurting Mei Ying... I'm so sorry Mei Ying...

But still, I had gotten the upper hand over Dre so, Cheng: one, Dre: zero. Little did I know that that little twelve-year-old would be the cause of my downfall.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? Please tell me if I missed any lines from the movie. Was this a good first chapter? REVIEW!**

**Always Grateful,**

**-shmankingowner44  
**


	2. Cheng: Two Dre: Zero

Chapter Two

Cheng: Two Dre: Zero

"Gōngyuán shì rúhé ne? Yīdìng shì yǒuqù de pànduàn, ér nǐ de yīfú nǐ huì qíngbùzìjīn de shǎxiào [How was the park today? Must have been fun judging by your clothes and that smirk on your face]," My mother beamed as I sauntered into the kitchen with my striped ebony and pallid polo and denim jeans covered in black ash and rubble from the asphalt.

"Shì a, shì zhèyàng. Wǒ dào yīgè xīn de háizi jīntiān yīngbàng [Yeah, it was. I got to pound a new kid today]," I grinned. My mother's eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Qǐng gàosu wǒ zhè bùshì Dre Parker! Érqiě nǐ zhīdào wǒ duì nǐ de gǎnshòu yong gōngfu jiāng zhùyì lì jízhōng zài háizi men [Please tell me it wasn't Dre Parker! And you know how I feel about you using Kung Fu to pick on kids]," My mother frowned. I rolled my eyes and flopped onto the leather recliner.

"Chill, ma," I replied, flipping the channels until I arrived at SpongeBob. My mother was upset that I had used slang but ignored it and continued cooking. I wondered why... it wasn't like we were having guests over today, was it? I shrugged it off and grabbed a Coke from the fridge. I plopped back down on the tan recliner again and pushed the can open with my thumb. After the Coke had finished crackling and popping from its carbonated release, I began sipping at it.

I was enjoying being at the safety and comfort, of my home, where I could rest my feet on the glass coffee table, and go meditate by the Zen Garden or the fountain whenever I pleased. I was in the middle of a funny SpongeBob bit where SpongeBob and Patrick had accidently unfrozen Mermaid Man's arch nemesis, Manray when my mother interrupted me.

"Cheng?" My mother called.

"Shì de, mama [Yes, ma]?" I responded as I kept my eyes glued to the television screen.

"Wánchéng nǐ de gōngkè, Meiying hé tā de fùmǔ lái le qī gè zhǔchí jīntiān de wǎncān [Finish your homework, Meiying and her parents are coming over today at seven for dinner]," My mother explained as she pulled the cake she was baking out of the oven. I choked on the Coke I was sipping and pounded myself on my chest.

Meiying couldn't come today! I hadn't finished thinking of my apology yet... but it would be more sincere if I apologized today but I had hoped by tomorrow some of her anger would have evaporated... no chance of that now. Meiying had probably asked her parents before this... is that why she had her cell phone out as I was leaving the park?

Ah... my love was truly a brilliant girl...

"Nǐ méishì ba [Are you okay]?" My mother called concernedly from the kitchen, hearing my choking and pounding.

"Shì de [Yes]," I gasped.

I forced myself not to subdue as I trudged up the mahogany staircase, clutching the porcelain railing for support. When I arrived in the hallway, I bowed my head and walked with a heavy heart into my messy, cerulean room. I smiled slightly as I looked around my room- every inch of it had been covered with scrolls, paintings, even the walls were painted with dragons, the rugs, even my bed sheets; they were all covered with Dragons or some resemblance of Kung Fu. I grinned as memories of me as a child begging on knee to my father for this flooded into my thoughts.

My heart pumped with a strong sense of pride before I arrived at my desk; my first place Open Kung Fu Tournament from last year's was on a coffee table right next to my desk; a small glass container sealing and protecting it from harm. I grinned at the thought of this year's tournament.

However, my joy was crumbled to despair when I remembered that Meiying was still upset with me, and I fell into a deep, swirling pool of agonizing pain again. My love... _my_ Meiying was upset with me for hating a useless American boy trying to flirt with her... _why_?

I tried not to think about it as I plunged my hand into my Jansport backpack and fished out my History book and my notepad.

"Chídùn [Retarded]," I muttered as I began scrawling answers on my notepad. It was stupid, irritating beyond belief that Mrs. Qiao gave us History homework; she was the only teacher in the whole school who had given us homework, most teacher's with brains thought it was unnecessary to have homework the first day back from winter break.

I groaned when I saw the last question.

_48: Why did Sun Ce make Sun Quan his successor over his son, Sun Shao?_

This was the only question I had ever had problems with- I knew the book _Romance of the Three Kingdoms _by heart! Every page, ever sentence, every word... burned into my memory.

"Ugh! Yúchǔn, gāisǐ fūrén Qiáo [Stupid, (**A/N: If you're wondering what gāisǐ** **means, it's a word I'd rather not repeat**) Mrs. Qiao]!" I bellowed, slamming my head on the desk. Bad idea- my desk cracked and splintered. Cursing my hard head and massaging my forehead, I winced as my mother scolded me.

"Zhùyì nǐ de yǔyán [Watch your language]!" My mother roared from the kitchen; her voice reverberating up the staircase.

"Duìbùqǐ [Sorry]!" I called, shrinking back, terrified at the thought my mother might be coming in to personally scold me. Fortunately, I didn't hear her footsteps storming up the staircase. I sighed in relief and bowed back over my desk. I finally groaned and gave up; I checked the due date and gaped, my jaw practically hitting the desk; June twenty-second, the second-to-last day of school, the day after the Open Kung Fu Tournament.

Since when did Mrs. Qiao give us so much time? Then I gasped and realized why; that one question counted for eighty-five percent of our grade. I groaned... even if I got an A on every single project that came my way it wouldn't be enough unless I answered this question sufficiently. Meiying was brilliant... but she would never help me now, she was too upset... and I couldn't blame her... still, no harm in asking... I wouldn't push it though, it would be enough to be forgiven.

I leapt out of my chair and bounded down the stairs.

"Nǐ juéde nǐ zài gànshénme [What do you think you're doing]?" My mother growled as I reached for a wonton.

"Chī [Eating]?" I whispered, recoiling my hand, fearing my mother's rage.

"No, you are going to clean yourself up, go buy a present for Meiying, and then you are going to sit down and eat at _dinner_. Now have you finished your homework?" My mother demanded, speaking in English for the first time this whole night.

"Shì de [Yes]..." I grumbled.

"Good, now and buy some flowers or _Shìjiè Qiǎokèlì Mènggōngyuán chocolate for Meiying then take a shower," My mother continued, speaking, still, in English._

_"_Shì de, mama [Yes, ma]," I replied, climbing back up the stairs. I pocketed my wallet, a set of keys, and my cell phone. I ran into the bathroom and flipped on the warm water switch before trudging back down the stairs.

"I'll be back in a bit, ma!" I called before running out the door. As soon as I was clear of our driveway, I really ran. I sprinted at dazing speed, soaring over pipes and little children, sliding under carts, using the Kung Fu jump off of walls when a particularly big obstruction came in my path. I gaped when I arrived at the high-quality chocolate shop on Guangqu Road. There was a huge line of children waiting to purchase some chocolate, all waving at least a thick wad of Renminbi. I gaped... there was only one way out of this.

* * *

"Jesus!" I practically cried as I flipped over a child and face-palmed the teenager closest to the front of the line and stumbled onto the counter. The man at the cash register cocked an eyebrow.

_"_Duìbùqǐ [Sorry]," I muttered.

"Hǎo ba... Wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ ma [Okay... Can I help you]?" The man asked impatiently, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"Shì a, liǎng gè Shíjié zhèn Qiǎokèlì Mènggōngyuán de zuì hǎo de qiǎokèlì piàn [Yeah, two pieces of _Shìjiè Qiǎokèlì Mènggōngyuán's best chocolate]," I replied. The man raised his eyebrows._

_"_Dāngrán nǐ kěyǐ fùdān de qǐ, háizi [Sure you can afford it, kid]?" The man asked me. I nodded with a smirk.

"Wǒ shì Sun lái zì jiātíng, kē xi jiā wǒ kěyǐ fùdān de qǐ. Duōshǎo qián [I'm from the Sun family, of course I can afford it. How much is it]?" I said a bit arrogantly with a smirk.

"Sì shí wǔ Renminbi [Forty Five Renminbi] (**A/N: Sorry, I'm sure it's probably more expensive, but I don't know the rates in China, so if you're American imagine it's that many dollars just for two bars of chocolate)**," The man responded in a more respectful tone once he realized the high-class family I came from. I handed him the money and swiped it for the two chocolate bars he held out, a ribbon tied around them both.

"Xièxiè [Thank you]," The man murmured in a courteous tone and bowed deeply.

"Bú yòng xiè [_You_ don't have to thank me for that]," I replied with a wave, emphasizing that _I _should be thanking _him_, before turning around and sprinting again.

* * *

"You're late!" My mother hissed as I ran in.

"Sorry," I muttered as my father gave me a disapproving look. My mother was a little more forgiving. She kissed my forehead and muttered, "Hurry up, I just saw their headlights, get in the shower."

I nodded and ascended up the stairs. I deposited my present to Meiying on the foot of my bed then jogged back to the bathroom.

I groaned; it had only been twenty-five minutes, I still had to wait five more minutes. I leaned against the bathroom wall and strained to hear what was going on downstairs. Craning my head and inclining my head side to side, I heard footsteps... talking... shoes step over the threshold... the couch groaning as more weight was displaced on it... Meiying's sweet, beautiful voice...

I noticed it was time for the warm water to come, so I stripped free of my ashen polo and my denim jeans and leapt agilely into the shower. I moaned aloud as the warm water pounded on my back, relieving my sore and stiff muscles. I moved slightly so the water could ease the pain where I had fallen on my back on the asphalt. After I had shampooed and completely sanitized myself, I stepped out of the shower.

I stretched a bit but gasped myself when I heard a gasp behind me. I prayed to god that it was father or Uncle Shao. Unfortunately the sudden intake of breath behind me seemed too feminine and I turned hesitantly to face Meiying. Her slender hand was covering her mouth, and we both blushed furiously. I blushed harder as her eyes were forced to focus on my face.

Meiying blushed harder and her eyes widened. Despite the awkwardness of the moment and the fact that we both looked away, I managed to side-step around her and she did the same, both in a desperate attempt to get as far away from each other as possible. Bad idea.

Meiying was wearing high heels that captured my own heel, and we fell forward, with me on top of her. Her eyes widened and I gasped when we both noticed how close our faces were; mere inches away. Reluctantly, (**A/N: Cheng isn't a pervert, but he likes being close to Meiying) **I rolled away from her.

"Sorry!" We both said, blushing furiously. I offered her my hand after I had put on a fluffy, white towel but she waved it away.

"Still kind of uncomfortable and freaked out here; I'd rather not... have you help me up. And I'm still angry at you about what you did to Dre," Meiying said with a frown as she stood up.

"How can you show affection for that American, piece of filth?" I snorted as Meiying kept her eyes rock-steady on my face. "You know Uncle Shao would never approve."

"It's called _compassion _Cheng, ever heard of it? Besides, I wasn't thinking about dating him," Meiying said stubbornly, but her blush and her eyes darting away gave away too much; I blushed slightly as her eyes traced over my chest and biceps before darting back to my face.

"Of course not," I sneered. I left the bathroom, feeling terrible for leaving Meiying hurt like that... even though she had wounded me as well (**A/N: It hurts Cheng to know that Meiying has a crush on Dre)**.

I pulled on a satin tuxedo and ran a comb through my hair once. My eyes searched around for Meiying's present and pocketed it once I had found it. With a deep breath I jogged down the stairs with a forced smile on my face.

"Hěn bàoqiàn de tuōyán... Wǒ xiǎng kàn kàn nǐ yǐqián lái yíngjiē wǒ zuì hǎo de [Sorry for the delay... I wanted to look my best before coming to greet you]," I apologized and half-lied with a smile. Uncle Shao and Aunt Shangxiang smiled.

"Dāngrán Chéng. Meiying shì zài yùshì, dāng tā zuò, tā huì jiārù wǒmen de hángliè [Of course Cheng. Meiying is in the bathroom, when she is done, she'll join us]," Uncle Shao boomed and I nodded, blushing slightly. I knew very well where Meiying was and why... and I was still nervous about seeing her again.

Light footfalls rained down the staircase and I knew Meiying was coming; my time was up. Of course, I was the only one who heard her; Kung Fu extends the five senses noticeably and greatly. When my father caught sight of Meiying he immediately began bellowing.

"Ah! Meiying lái zuò zài pángbiān de Chéng! Nǐmen liǎng gè kěyǐ jiāowǎng zài tā de fángjiān, tài [Ah! Meiying come sit next to Cheng! You two may socialize in his room, too]," My father greeted her with a smile. Unfortunately, my father didn't know what he was setting us up for. Meiying came and sat down next to me and neither of us made eye contact as we turned scarlet.

"Maybe we should at least look at each other," I muttered, thankful our parents were distracted.

"Okay," Meiying said softly. Our eyes met and I felt guilty and even more bashful when I looked into her accusing hazel eyes; her hazel eyes which were tinged with a mixture of jade and grey didn't really help, they were too innocent and seemed to constantly hiss, 'How could you poison my innocence?'

"Um, sorry about what happened in the bathroom," I apologized not breaking eye contact, feeling slightly relieved. I let my guilt and sincerity pool into my eyes, praying to god she could see it. She was perspective girl; she did.

"I'm also sorry about what happened at the park... I was just jealous..." I continued nervously.

"I understand, Cheng," Meiying said, touching my hand slightly before pulling back and blushing. Clearly it would take us time to get over what happened in the bathroom.

"Why... do you like him over me?" I asked in a choked, tortured whisper, trying to keep much of my agony out of my voice and failing. Meiying seemed horrified at what she'd done but she couldn't bring herself to regret it.

"I... he's special. There are things about him... his brunette hair, his caramel skin, the way his eyes always sparkle, his timidity colliding with his confidence, how brave he is, and he's really charismatic. He's also really kind and gentleman-like and supportive, and I don't think he settles his problems with _Kung Fu_," Meiying implied, heavily emphasizing on Kung Fu.

"Sorry," I murmured again, unsure of what to say. "Here, I got this for you..."

I handed Meiying the two pieces of chocolate I had bought for her and I was highly taken aback when she threw her arms around my neck and brought me closer.

"Thanks Cheng! I love Shìjiè Qiǎokèlì Mènggōngyuán's!" Meiying gushed. She gently untied the ribbon holding the two pieces together and pocketed it, then handed me a bar.

"This reminds me of when we were kids," I muttered, relishing on the chocolate's soft, creamy, pure goodness. I took another bite, and I was sure Meiying's thoughts were along the same lines as mine, in our past.

_

* * *

_

"Cheng!" My mother called as I was about to head into the park.

_"Yes, mother?" I asked impatiently, stopping at the door, constantly bouncing my basketball._

_"We're having important guests over from your father's work, be on your best behavior in front of their daughter!" My mother said, coming out of the kitchen to kiss my forehead and push me out the door. Cold, dread pierced my heart as I dropped; I was never good in front of guests, especially not girls..._

_I scooped up my basketball and began trudging nervously to the park before an eleven-year-old Feng bounded towards me._

_"Hey, Cheng!" He bellowed. _

_"Hey, Feng," I replied nearly oblivious to the fact that Feng had just swiped my basketball from me and was teasing me._

_"Hey, you okay?" Feng finally asked as I plodded to the park, completely ignoring him._

_"No," I said with a sigh, and explained the situation to him with a heavy sigh. _

_"Aw, that sucks," Feng said, clapping my shoulder and sympathizing for me. "You fail at being... formal in front of girls."_

_"I know!" I groaned, burying my face in my hands._

_"You want me to leave you alone?" Feng asked me as I sat down glumly on a bench._

_"Yeah," I muttered, sitting with my head in my hands. I sat there moodily for a bit until I noticed a presence next to me- a very pretty girl with a bundle of hair and two little ponytails emitting from each end. She seemed edgy about something, and kept pulling at her pink shirt. _

_"Hi?" I said a bit nervously. She looked up and met my eyes and it felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen; they were copper or hazel, tinged with a mixture of jade and silver or grey. _

_"Hi," She said back nervously. I was beginning to __like__ this girl and I didn't even know her. _

_"You seem nervous, is something wrong?" I asked her concernedly, taking her hand before pulling away. _

_"Yeah, my parents are taking me to their friends house, my father's friend from work, and they have a son, and I'm really nervous," She said, her eyes darting back and forth._

_"Really? What a coincidence! My father had guests coming over and they have a daughter. Between you and me, I'm not good at being formal around girls," I said nervously. The girl laughed._

_"Really? I'm not good at being formal around boys!" She smiled and we laughed together._

_"What's your name?" I asked slightly timidly, but puffing my chest out as Master Li had instructed._

_"Meiying Yu, what's yours?" Sh__e asked me with a slight blush, giggling as I puffed out my chest. I let out my breath and met her eyes embarrassedly._

_"Cheng Sun," I replied. Suddenly her hazel eyes were sparkling, sparkling with a joke she hadn't yet told me. Meiying was special._

_"So, would you like some chocolate?" I asked her. She seemed slightly taken aback but replied, "Yes... I eat chocolate whenever I want to calm myself down, do you?"_

_My eyes widened, how did I have so much in common with this girl?_

_"Yes," I replied incredulously. She smiled and I broke a piece of Shìjiè Qiǎokèlì Mènggōngyuán's best chocolate and handed it to her. We nibbled on the chocolate until the sun began to set. I sighed. Meiying began to get up and I felt strange... almost bad inside._

_"Will I ever see you again, Meiying?" I asked with a sad smile._

_"Yes, very soon in fact. See you later Cheng," She beamed before running away, however waving over her shoulder as she did so. I waved back, feeling a strange combination of cheerfulness and loss. _

_That night, when the guests arrived, I was in for quite the surprise. _

_

* * *

_

"Wait,

_you're __the girl?" I asked incredulously when I saw the beautiful girl from the park hiding behind her parents. _

_"Yes," Meiying nodded. _

_"You aren't surprised to see me?" I asked perplexedly. She shook her head._

_"I knew you were the boy, it was too much of a coincidence. And when you said you were from the Sun family I knew it was you, my father said his friend's last name was Sun," Meiying said with an air of superiority. I grinned at the magical girl; who knew a girl could be so... someone... you weren't shy around? _

_

* * *

_

From that moment on, we were best friends. Meiying suddenly laughed.

_"What?" I asked her, looking at her from the corner of my eyes, instantly doubting her sanity. _

_"I was just remembering your expression when you realized I was the girl who was coming over for dinner," Meiying said with a grin and we both laughed. _

_"Are you still mad at me?" I asked her softly. She pretended to think about it._

_"Yeah, a little," She replied, getting up to throw away her chocolate wrapper._

_"Please forgive me?" I asked with a puppy-dog expression. She rolled her eyes._

_"Only if you promise to __never__ do that again," She snorted. _

_"Everybody's a critic," I grumbled as I began marching up the stairs._

_"Where are we going?" Meiying asked as I strode through the hallway with her in tow. _

_"Can you help me with my homework?" I explained as Meiying raised her eyebrows when I sat down at my desk. Meiying's eyes narrowed, and she glared at me for a bit before sighing in defeat. _

_"Thanks, Meiyi!" I cried merrily, recognizing her expression and using my favorite nickname for her._

_"Fine, what question?" Meiying grumbled, pushing me out of my chair and scooting closer to my desk once she had sat down. _

_"Forty-eight," I replied and Meiying shook her head. "__Why__?"_

_"Because I didn't understand that problem either!" Meiying exploded. I shielded my face with my hands in case she decided to blame this on me for some reason. _

_"Okay! Calm down!" I responded, still cowering behind my hands. _

_"I've never not known the answer to a problem!" Meiying continued, on the verge of hysteria. _

_"Okay, relax, calm down," I said, moving slowly towards her, hands up, palms forward._

_"Don't you tell me to calm down Cheng Sun!" Meiying practically roared. _**(A/N: Sorry this part was italic, it's not supposed to be, but Document Manager was spazzing out on me.)**

_"_Qīnài de, hǎo xiāoxi! Meiying jīntiān shì guòyè [Honey, good news! Meiying is sleeping over today]!" My mom called elatedly. My eyes shot back from the door gradually into her eyes. Meiying's hazel eyes were sparking with ferocity.

"Aw, come, on!" I groaned, before Meiying chased me out the door.

* * *

At around three I decided to stop rocking in the corner and beg. I tip-toed to the door and knocked softly on it.

"Meiying? It's three in the morning; can you _please_ let me out of the bathroom? I'm hungry!" I pleaded in a hushed voice at the door. There was no answer on the other side. I dropped onto all fours and peeked out the crack on the bottom. I didn't see anything. As inaudibly as I possibly could, I creaked the door open. I tip-toed into my room and noticed that Meiying was asleep on the pull-out bed. I looked towards the ceiling and mouthed, _Thank you_. I pulled off my dress shoes and collapsed onto my bed. I remembered that my mom told me when girls went through puberty, some changes occurred, and mood swings were normal. Yeah mom, talk about _change_.

* * *

"Cheng wake up!" Meiying shook me awake.

"AH! Don't smother me!" I bellowed, cringing against the blanket. Meiying rolled her eyes.

"Go get ready for school, your dad is driving us," Meiying replied, packing her backpack. I noticed Meiying was already prepared, and wore a pretty cherry, silk dress with a black ribbon going around the center.

"Okay," I answered, trying to pull myself away from the mesmerizing dress. _  
"Here," Meiying said, throwing me a plaid, button-up shirt and light blue jeans. I groaned._

_"What?" Meiying asked._

_"I __hate __plaid," I grumbled._

_"Well __I__ think it looks nice on you. You can wear something else if you'd like," Meiying replied, looking slightly hurt. I felt bad and took the clothing, though secretly planning some kind of revenge. The best way to get revenge with Meiying was to embarrass not her... but someone she liked... hmm. _

_I smirked. It was time to plan Operation:__ Cheng: Two Dre: Zero__. _

_The calming steam and water of the shower helped me think, and I hopped out with a plan. I swiftly brushed my teeth and packed my backpack before bounding downstairs. _

_"We're late, just grab something," Meiying replied, holding a banana and a plastic cup of orange juice herself; at her request I grabbed two slices of toast, folded them, and quickly munched them away. As I searched for something to wash them down with, my mother pushed a mug of coffee into my loose fist. I hurriedly downed it, kissed my mother, and tugged Meiying out the door. _**(A/N: Sorry this part was italic, it's not supposed to be, but Document Manager was spazzing out on me.)**

_"_Kuài diǎn, shàng chē [Hurry up, get in the car]!" My father ordered us from the front seat of the Mercedes. Meiying and I fumbled for our seatbelts whilst my father revved the engine. The car backed out slowly before it was zooming away so fast everything seemed to be not moving out of the dark windows. The only reason I knew we were moving was because I could hear the erect tires screeching against the pavement.

"Feng! Ce! Yun! Yi! Liang!" I greeted as I leapt out of the car. Meiying followed suit.

"Shangxiang! Yue! Xia! Da!" Meiying greeted her girl friends who were all standing arm in arm with their boyfriends- my friends.

Shangxiang left Feng, Yue left Liang, Xia left Yun, and Da left Yi to run and hug Meiying. Just to tease them, Feng ran at me with his arms wide open but I stopped him with a raised hand.

"_Don't _even _think_ about it," I growled and Feng pulled back with a grin and held his hand up for a high-five. I high-fived Feng and received many high-fives, one-armed hugs, and hair ruffling from my friends.

The first bell rang and I groaned.

"Ugh, time for history," I mumbled as Feng, Shangxiang, Liang, and Yue headed for the high school complex; laughing at my _enthusiasm_.

Ce walked towards the elementary complex, whilst Xia, Da, and Yun walked towards their first classes.

"Let's go," I grumbled, heading towards room one-oh-five. Meiying and Yi walked in front of me, both playfully shoving each other and laughing. However, someone behind us caught my attention.

At first glance Dre's black eye seemed to have magically healed, but then I realized he was wearing foundation. I snorted. Oh Dre, this is going to be a _very_ fun day. For me.

"I hate my life," Yi muttered as we headed out of Phys Ed.

"Why? Because you have detention for goofing off instead of doing ridiculous positions? Or because of that jacket?" I grinned. He rolled his eyes and shoved me; I only skidded a few inches.

"Both," He grumbled, tugging at his beige pullover his mother had forced him to wear. It sounded adequate by description; until you saw the fabric butterfly pattern on the back. The only reason people refrained from teasing Yi, was because as we all knew he would either beat them up himself, or get me to do it.

"Oh no!" Meiying cried.

"What?" Yi asked irritably.

"I forgot my violin in the band room, I have to go drop it off at the auditorium," Meiying replied, rushing away from the cafeteria.

"Why do her parents want her to get into B-A-M so bad?" Yi asked me as we waited in line to get our food.

"I dunno, maybe it has to do with being _rich_," I teased, dancing out of the way of Yi's jab. Yi wasn't wealthy, but he wasn't in poverty either so I didn't understand why he was offended. I piled my tray absentmindedly, not really paying attention to what I was getting.

"Kung Fu, tomorrow," I said with a grin.

"How I've missed it," Yi said sarcastically. Yi too, loved Kung Fu, but to him it was a hobby, not a way of life.

"It's only been two days," Yi snorted, grabbing a drink and tossing me mine. I caught it with my left hand and we retreated back to our table.

"Fresh meat," I grinned as Dre strode into the cafeteria. His stance clearly stated he was mortified and in an alien place.

"What an idiot," I sneered.

"What?" Liang said softly. Out of all my friends, Liang was the least happy with my treatment of Dre, but he'd never say anything about it.

"_Look _at him," I snorted, shaking my head. How could Liang not see something so _obvious_?

"Oh," Liang said, looking down once he saw Dre's flaw. Dre was wearing cobalt sweats with a strip of grey running down to his ankle; his top was an orange polo with two thin lines of emerald around the collar. A read bandana was tied in front through the loose flap of his collar. He wore a jacket; the patterns and colors matching his sweats. He was wearing a uniform, and it wasn't even Uniform Day.

"I wonder if he has a brain?" I mused silently. Liang rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be that harsh with him," Liang said softly. I looked over at Dre again and burst into laughter.

"Oh no?" I said between laughs, indicating Dre with my chin. Liang and everyone else at the table turned around to see Dre struggling with chopsticks. How is it possible to struggle with chopsticks? That's like saying having problems with a fork. Sure, newcomers or foreigners might have problems with chopsticks, but they might have guessed at least to stab the bit of food with the pointy end of the chopstick and place it on their tray like with a fork... instead of going Special Ed **(A/N: Not that I have anything against disabled people, but before Dre beats Cheng, Cheng is a jerk) **on it like Dre was.

Everyone howled with laughter at our table; Dre was oblivious.

"Hai," Meiying said in her adorable Chinese accent, appearing quite literally out of nowhere, touching one of Dre's braids lightly. I growled and stood up but Yun grabbed my arm.

"Finish your chaomein first," He commanded and with a defeated sigh I bent down over my chaomein, picking a few strands up with my chopsticks (or Kuàizi as we call them in China), slurping as I eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Hey!" Dre said exuberantly, his eyes twinkling at the sight of her. I growled as I slurped my noodles.

"You know," Meiying continued, with a smile. "We only wear uniforms on Uniform Day."

"Yeah... well, you know," Dre grinned bashfully.

"I'm sorry about Cheng," Meiying said as she filled her tray with food, assisting Dre with his. Our entire table seemed to groan; why must she ruin our fun?

"So that's his name," Dre said, pondering something. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Meiying seemed highly taken aback by this.

"No!" She answered hastily, searching for a different answer. "Our parents are _very _close."

The small glimmer of hope rising in my heart died; and I choked on my chaomein. I spit it out disgustedly and began to throw away my food.

"Well he definitely likes you," Dre replied. I rolled my eyes as Meiying smiled; who in the school didn't know that?

"I have to go practice," Meiying said to a crestfallen Dre.

"You eat and practice at the same time?" Dre asked. He seemed absolutely bewildered.

"Yes," Meiying responded, unsure why this was so shocking to him. In an attempt to keep her from leaving, Dre said something that made utterly no sense.

"But my mom says if you stand while you eat... it gives you gas!" Dre babbled. Meiying giggled.

"You're funny," She beamed. She waved and strode outside. Dre smiled after she had left and, infuriated, I strutted as casually as possible towards him.

As the clatter of the tray I had slammed out of Dre's hands rang out the room, silence followed. Everyone watched with hopeful expressions (for a fight) if not feared expressions for Dre.

Dre looked blankly down at his tray for the source of the noise, at his stained shirt, and then glared into my eyes. I could feel comprehension dawning on him as his brunette eyes locked with my sable ones.

"Oh!" I gasped over dramatically, grinning. With an artificial apologetic expression and sarcasm dripping in my voice, I held up my hands, palms forward and smiled, "_Sorry_."

"Dude what's your problem!" Dre growled, running forward and shoving me. I staggered about a millimeter as he ran forward for his next attack. I got into a defensive stance for no reason; Mrs. Po appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Dre.

"Mr. Parker, stop it!" She burst out heatedly.

"He slammed the tray right out of my hands!" Dre said accusingly, pointing at me. Mrs. Po's head snapped around and her eyes bored into mine. Thankfully, I was born with the ability to lie while looking straight into someone's eyes.

"Fūrén Po, wǒ bù xiǎoxīn zhuàng shàng le tā de shǒu pán chūlái. Dāng wǒ xiàng tā dàoqiàn, tā tuī wǒ [Mrs. Po, I accidently knocked the tray out of his hands. When I apologized, he pushed me]!" I cried, sneering mockingly at Dre behind Mrs. Po's back when Mrs. Po turned back to Dre.

People on Dre's side made sounds of outrage; however, the majority of the school was on my side, so a murmur of agreement passed through them.

"Whatever he's saying, he's lying!" Dre roared, pointing a furious finger at me.

"Mr. Parker go," Mrs. Po growled, pushing Dre towards the western exit. "Cheng, go."

Mrs. Po shoved me towards the eastern exit. As I left I heard Dre yell furiously, "I HATE THIS PLACE!"

I smirked as I sauntered away; Cheng: Two, Dre: Zero.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ah, so the true jerk in Cheng shines forward. Cheng is one of my favorite characters; don't get me wrong! Alas, I have to make him a jerk for this novel, but rejoice Cheng fans! In the sequel he will portray a warm, kind-hearted boy, the boy that he really is. So what did you think of this chapter? Please review!

**Always Grateful,**

**-shmankingowner44**


	3. Kung Fu

Chapter Three

Kung Fu

"Aw c'mon Meiyi! You can't be mad at me, I told you I would hurt him if he flirted with you," I pleaded with Meiying. The beautiful girl ignored me and rubbed her bow faster and furiously on her violin strings, her fingers dancing in a sort of, enraged way across the strings. I watched mesmerized for a moment. She finally sighed.

"What? What do you want me to say? I'm sorry and I forgive you? Why? So you can hurt me and Dre again?" Meiying demanded.

"Since when are you and Dre so close?" I asked curiously scooting closer to her on the park bench. Meiying ignored me.

"Just don't hurt Dre," She said seriously before playing her violin again. It wasn't as beautiful as before, more ragged and emotional, as if she was swearing at me, just through an instrument; still, the music was beautiful.

"I told you, if he flirts with you-," I began but Meiying cut me off.

"I KNOW! You said you'd hurt him. I know, okay? But _I_ flirted with _him_," Meiying snarled harshly. I recoiled as if she slapped me. The words she said were like a dagger, cutting away at my sanity. I gripped my heart as pain and agony seemed through pulse through my body instead of blood.

"Cheng! I'm sorry I didn't-!" Meiying began, her hazel eyes sincere. However, I gave her an expression that turned her stunning, apologetic face mortified and silent.

"Save it, I've heard it. You don't want me to hurt you again, so I won't. See you Meiyi, I can't hurt you if I'm not near you," I hissed, trying to keep my voice calm and the negativity out of it while failing miserable. I turned and paused to spit in the direction of Dre's apartment before marching- there was no other way to describe the way I moved- away from the park bench where Meiying sat; shocked and hurt.

The last thing I heard before I sprinted home was Meiying's sharp intake of breath, her strangled sob, and her murmur, "What have I _done_ to him?"

It's not you Meiying, it's me. Really and always, me. Why else would you pick him?

* * *

"Cheng? You okay?" Feng assessed my blank face as we sat in front of the television. I wasn't paying attention to the cartoons on the screen; I was more focused on the pain I was bringing Meiying.

"No," I sighed. "I'm jealous, truly envious of Dre, so I hurt him physically. But I can't seem to get revenge without hurting Meiying emotionally. As long as he doesn't do anything... rash or hurt her... I think I should stay away."

Feng snorted and I looked to him surprise.

"Don't kid yourself Cheng, the kid's head-over-heels for Meiyi. Won't be long before you hurt him- her again. Best you can do is pray for a miracle," Feng sympathized, patting my back as I groaned and leaned forward to burry my face in my hands.

"Hey, at least we have Kung Fu tomorrow, I can vent out some of my feelings there," I replied, feeling slightly better, forcing a smile.

"Yeah," Feng replied cheerily, glad the conversation had gone the way he had planned. Or at least so it seemed. Kung Fu didn't remotely cheer me up at the moment, and I only felt more pain and fury talking about Dre. I hated pretending that my emotions were jubilant and resolved to keep my friends content.

"Joy, bring forth thy witness, because you have wrongly accused Cheng Sun of possessing you," Feng muttered under his breath and I smiled slightly. I plugged in my headphones and began humming along the lyrics to "Apologize".

_I'm holding on your rope,  
Got me ten feet off the ground__,  
I'm hearing what you say but I just can't make a sound,  
You tell me that you need me,  
Then you go and cut me down, but wait,  
You tell me that you're sorry,  
Didn't think I'd turn around, _

_And say..._

_It's too late to apologize, __It's too late__,  
I said it's too late to apologize, __It's too late,_

_I'd take another chance, take a fall,  
Take a shot for you,  
And I need you like a heart needs a beat,  
But it's nothing new(Yeaah, yeah),  
I loved you with a fire red,  
Now it's turning blue, _

_And you say...  
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you,  
But I'm afraid..._

It's too late to apologize,

_It's too late__,  
I said it's too late to apologize,_

_It's too late__,_

_It's too late to apologize, _

_It's too late  
I said it's too late to apologize,_

_It's too late  
It's too late to apologize, (Yeah)  
I said it's too late to apologize, (Yeah)  
_

_I'm holding on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground..._

**(A/N: Haha, I just had to put that song in!) **Why was life so much like a movie? Why was there a perfect song for exactly the way I was feeling? _Why_?

* * *

I wrapped a fluffy towel around my middle and stepped out of the steamy bathroom. I headed to my room, forcing my spirits and thoughts to remain cheery. Today I would not look at, talk to, or think about Meiying (or try to and fail miserably) or bother, talk to, look at, think about, injure, humiliate, or hurt Dre (or so I thought).

My mind was still too clogged full of steam and the desire to crawl back into bed or the shower, so I decided to pick out my attire instead of dwelling on thoughts about Meiying or Dre. Finally, unable to decide on anything, I arbitrarily grabbed a checkered lavender and ebony shirt with dark jeans, and my sneakers with a checkered pattern on the edges. I decided to go further into fashion, due to the fact several images of Meiying and Dre were flooding into my head and roll up my sleeves to the elbow and pull on my navy, digital watch. Realizing something was missing, I ran a hand through my hair (which only became more untidy and stuck up in every direction) and reached for the lowest mahogany drawer on my desk. I pulled it out and grabbed the silver chain inside.

If I had Kung Fu today, I might as well be a suck up. I strung the Kung Fu symbol crested chain around my neck. I smiled as the sunlight reflected off the Yin Yang symbol on the chain (**A/N: I think that's the Kung Fu symbol? If not can you please tell me in a review?)**.

"Chéng! Zǎocān zhǔnbèi hǎo le [Cheng! Breakfast is ready]!" My mother called from the kitchen.

"Wèilái [Coming]!" I called. I appraised myself in the mirror before jogging down the stairs.

"Nǐ xiǎng fàguó miànbāo, màipiàn, sōng bǐng, huò báo jiānbing [Do you want French Toast, cereal, waffles, or pancakes]?" My mother asked me as I sat down at the dinner table.

Pondering for a bit, I replied, "French Toast and pancakes, I want maple syrup and butter on my pancakes!"

My mother laughed at my enthusiasm and ruffled my hair.

"How many?"

"Two of each. Can I have some coffee with it?" I pleaded with my mother, using the puppy-dog expression. _She rolled her eyes._

_"Only if you promise to __never__ do that again," She snorted. _

_"You had the exact same response as Meiying. And, yet again, my response to that is: everybody's a critic," I grumbled. My mother laughed and kissed my forehead as she placed the mouthwatering pastries in front of me. _

_Fanatically, I shoved my mouth with the delicacies and downed it with coffee._

_"Best breakfast ever, _Xièxiè [Thank you] ma!" I thanked my mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek as I stood up. I slung one strap of my backpack over my left shoulder and ran out the door. As I did I looked over my shoulder and roared, "BYE DAD!"

I heard my dad grumble something that went a little like this, "Zàijiàn, hǎo ma? Wǒ tīng dào nǐ, wǒ tīng dào nǐ. Nánhái, háizi dài le tā duì fèi bù [Bye, okay? I hear you, I hear you. Boy, that kid's got a pair of lungs on him]."

"Huòdé zài huángbāochē [Get in the rickshaw]," Feng growled as the rickshaw arrived ten minutes late at my house.

"With that seductive tone you're using, how could I not?" I teased. Feng rolled his eyes whilst my friends roared with laughter.

I leapt agilely onto the rickshaw as it rocked its way to our school.

* * *

"Boy, somebody's in a better mood then yesterday," Yun commented as we arrived at Beijing Junior High. I shrugged, desperate to keep my thoughts from going there.

"Eh, I just decided I'm not going to bother Meiyi-Meiying," I stammered, forcing myself not to use my nickname for her, "Or Dre."

"Unless he bothers you first," Liang grumbled knowingly, though he seemed in a better mood.

"Whatever suits you- oh god, don't do that in public," I groaned, revolted as my older friends' girlfriends ran up to them and locked them in an embrace involving lip contact.

"Shut up and go to History," Feng growled as he continued kissing Shangxiang. The bell rang at that precise moment and Yi detached himself from Da though everyone else continued 'engaging' in a... 'personal' conversation.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I faked vomit as I struggled to get Yi to History and myself as far away from that scene. Not only did that creep me out when my friends did that, but it brought along that love ache whenever I thought about the fight I had with Meiying, and how we could never be a couple...

When I took my regular seat at History, Meiying glanced very briefly at me from the corner of her eyes to judge her reaction, and I very tensely, and almost failed at it, ignored her. Meiying ignored me too, and we both remained ignorant of each other throughout the class. But it was harder for me; I was so used to staring at Meiying to distract me from History that I was on the edge of my seat with my nails clawing at the desk in a desperate attempt to keep myself from looking at Meiying. I glared at the chalkboard, not really hearing whatever Mrs. Qiao was going on about.

"Cheng?" Mrs. Qiao's nasally voice distracted me. "Are you done glaring at the chalkboard to answer my question?"

I was mildly surprised Mrs. Qiao was speaking to me in English again but I answered nonetheless.

"Yes, Mrs. Qiao," I answered in a sweet, much to innocent and overplayed voice which took Mrs. Qiao by surprise, not to mention myself, Meiying, and everyone else in the class. All my acting so far had been overplayed as I struggled to ignore Meiying.

"Have you gotten an answer to question number forty-eight on that paper I assigned a few days ago to you?" Mrs. Qiao asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"No, ma'am," I replied, taking her yet again, by surprise as she had expected me to lie.

"Oh... very well. Class dismissed early today," Mrs. Qiao said. That was all that she had time to get out of her mouth before I bolted out the door. I gasped once I was in Phys Ed, trying to calm myself and keep my thoughts from straying to Meiying.

"Ó, nǐ láide zǎo, xiānshēng tàiyáng. Hǎo ba, bǎ nǐ dì dìfāng, ràng wǒmen děngdài nǐ de tóngxué de dàolái [Oh, you're here early, Mr. Sun. Very well, take your place and let's wait for your classmates to arrive]," Mr. Jian said, finally taking notice of me. I noted that his voice was highly surprised... probably because I was actually early. Cheng Sun, _early_? That sounded even strange to me.

I waited in my spot; with a jolt I realized Meiying was next to me in this class too. I began twitching, and I became overly-anticipative when Meiying stood next to me. She seemed casual, but she was cheating; occasionally her eyes would flicker over to me sympathetically, I could even see her hand reach towards mine before snapping away.

"Okay, I will start the music," Mr. Jian announced through his megaphone before pressing a shiny button on a large, ebony with silver trim stereo. "Remember, one, two, three, four..."

As we twisted and shaped ourselves to the beat, Mr. Jian was staring particularly at Meiying; occasionally during this I deluded myself into thinking that he was doing this just because he knew I couldn't.

"Meiying's got it! Meiying come in front of the class and do it," Mr. Jian boomed, pulling Meiying to the front of the class. Everyone stopped dancing and stared at Meiying, mesmerized by her dancing. I pointedly stared away, at different things.

"Oi! Mr. Sun! Pay attention!" Mr. Jian barked as I glared at him before staring at the top of Meiying's hair.

"At her, you dope! Not at her hair!" Mr. Jian growled, and I could feel Meiying's eyes on me. I lowered my eyes and met her copper-jade ones and nearly fainted. Her eyes were... apologetic? _Why_? I should be the one apologizing. Meiying began to mouth, _I'm sor-_, but I cut her off. I shook my head slightly and subtly, very aware Mr. Jian was glaring at me.

_Don't apologize, _I'm _sorry_ I mouthed at Meiying who watched me with a peculiar expression. _But I don't think I'm ready to hang out with you... yet. Until school's over, for one, the class would notice if we start talking. Two, Dre is expecting you. Three, you're going to be practicing at lunch._

I was highly amazed when Meiying caught all of that and nodded, perfectly in time. I was truly mystified and awed by how Meiying had grown so attuned to the music; she nodded her head right when the step for that came. She was truly a magical creature... and this was really terrible choreography.

Even though it seemed a bit perverted, I had just noticed what she was wearing. She was wearing a sleeveless frilled saffron dress that went down to her knees; it had a pallid collar.

"Now, I want you, class, to be able to dance like this by the time we are done with the dancing unit," Mr. Jian boomed over the lunch bell. There was _no body _in the _world_ that could dance like my Meiying.

"That was really good," Yi said to me as we walked towards the cafeteria. Yun literally popped out of nowhere and joined us.

"What was?" Yun asked.

"Meiying's dancing, she was asked to dance in front of our whole Phys Ed class," Yi explained.

"Ah, is that why Cheng looks so love struck?" Yun grinned. I ignored him.

"That was _amazing_... it was... _fantastic_, incredible!" I gasped, trying to sum up what I felt. Yun and Yi both gave each other wicked grins before making kissing faces at me. I rolled my eyes and shoved them while they laughed.

"You hungry?" Yi asked me I shook my head.

"Me either," Yun piped up.

"Let's go upstairs and throw water balloons again," Yi suggested as we arrived in the hallway with the staircase.

"Sweet!" I agreed in unison with Yun. For some strange reason, I felt as if there was another presence... hiding from us? Behind us...

However I ignored it and jogged up the stairs with my friends, all of us grinning.

* * *

"Here's the plan," I whispered, crouching down in the corridor outside the Phys Ed room for the elementary school as Yi and Yun followed my example. "Yi, you go sneak some balloons from the Phys Ed room, Yun, you keep a watch for him."

Yun and Yi nodded understandingly.

"Okay, then bring them to me, I'll fill them up using the pipe over there," I continued in a monotone, all-business voice, pointing at the pipe adjacent to us. "Then we throw them at highschoolers... keep an eye out for Shangxiang and Yue, they'll _murder_ us if we get their shoes wet; and we can't do anything since they're girls. I'm sure Feng and Liang won't mind, they love a good laugh. Okay, quick, go get the balloons!"

Yun and Yi ran in as I dashed to the cafeteria and sneaked a bin out. I sprinted back to the pipe and was greeted by a bucket of balloons.

"Got them," Yun said proudly.

"Nice, you guys are getting faster," I grinned.

"Of course, O Fearless Leader," Yi winked as I rolled my eyes and began filling up the balloons. Once every colorful bag of plastic had been filled to the brim with water and tied, Yi, Yun, and I grabbed an edge of the bin and heaved.

"Wow, this is light," I commented.

"Only because we're all carrying it... but then Kung Fu has made us a lot stronger," Yun responded thoughtfully, rolling his eyes as we arrived back at the balcony on the second-story building.

"Look there's Shangxiang," Yi grinned before tossing a cerulean water balloon up in the air once, catching it, and hurling it at her. Yun gave Yi an incredulous and an _if-he-or-she-decides-to-kill-you-I-am-not-sticking-up-for-you_ look as we heard the elastic band of the balloon snap and the water gush out we all dropped to all-fours.

"What was that? I said not to go for them!" I hissed to Yi who grinned, unabashed.

"So? If they don't know it's us it doesn't really matter does it?" He continued with a goofy grin on his face whilst a knowing grin began spreading on my own face and Yun's.

Soon, there was a rainbow fountain of water-filled elastic heading for several highschoolers including Liang, Shangxiang, Feng, and Yue.

"Yes!" We all hissed in pleasure, high-fiving each other as we crawled away from the balcony on all-fours. Once we were at the staircase we bounded down, making jokes about what had happened and laughing. Suddenly I noticed a particular caramel face in front of me. I stiffened as my sable eyes met Dre Parker's brunette ones. He tensed at the sight of us, and I was contemplating on letting him go when I realized he had just come from the auditorium; Meiying was practicing.

"_Heeey_!" I greeted him in a sickeningly sweet voice as if I was a fan girl meeting him. Dre spun around and retreated from us at a brisk pace. We matched his pace.

"Can I touch your hair?" I teased him in an imitation of Meiying, grabbing his hair as he jerked away from me and he spun into a corridor with no other sources of life.

We advanced menacingly on Dre, and he loosened his backpack, dropping it behind him as we cornered him into a secluded corridor in case onlookers decided to make something of us bothering him.

Dre and his expression tightened as I stepped closer to him; he stepped into a pathetic defensive position as he pressed himself against the wall.

"Gonna' do something?" I barked, my face mere inches away from his face; it took every ounce of self-control I could muster to not break his face by grabbing it and slamming it against the wall. I glowered menacingly at him; making him freeze in his attempt to escape or to stop the twins (as Yun and Yi had unzipped his backpack and kicked or scattered the contents).

"Just stay away from us," I growled. I abruptly thought of something.

"_All _of us," I snarled, closer to his face, emphasizing on 'all'. I prayed to god he'd understand I meant for him to stay away from Meiying.

However, his face betrayed no emotion but fear. I smirked and stepped away, kicking his backpack into the air as I strode out of the corridor. Yi kicked a book and Yun side-kicked his backpack.

We smiled, letting the air of superiority hang over us as we walked out of the courtyard with smug expressions. My face changed from smugness to shock and fear as we rounded the corner- soaking wet and furious waited for us two saber-tooth tigers... and Liang and Feng.

Feng and Liang both mouthed, _We couldn't stop them. Sorry, you're on your own._ I nodded, smiling slightly to show my gratefulness anyway.

"We told you," Yue and Shangxiang growled in unison, stepping menacingly towards us; we automatically took a step back. "To not get our shoes wet."

"O... M...G," Yi said teasingly with a grin on his face before the girls chased us through the school. We sprinted as fast as we could, all of us voicing our exhilaration (in other words, screaming our heads off) as the two girls were at our heels.

Xia and Da gave us skeptical looks and seemed slightly bashful that their boyfriends and one of their best friends were cowering and running away from two high school girls.

"WOO-HOO!" Yi bellowed as we ran by Xia and Da.

"You're running away from high school girls? _Really_!" Xia questioned mockingly as I turned so I was running backwards.

"Hey! _Ferocious _high school girls!" I corrected her, still jogging as fast as I could before turning myself so I was facing forward.

"You're dead!" Yue hissed as I heard Shangxiang let out a mortifying sound between a growl, a snarl, and an enraged scream that seemed to be in agreement.

"C'mon! We have Kung Fu! Can't you wait until we're done?" I pleaded.

* * *

"Ow! God that freaking hurt! Master Li won't get mad that we have bruises on our backs and necks, will he?" Yi asked me as I shrugged. My friends and I were walking towards Kung Fu, Yi, Yun, and I feeling bashful and embarrassed whilst Feng, Liang, and Ce walked beside us with smug faces.

"Just say our teachers hit us again because we were thinking about Kung Fu and not paying attention," Yun said with a shrug.

"I'll do it, I'm best at lying with terrible excuses," I hinted at Yun who glowered at me.

"Hey, you try coming up with something that Master Li will actually buy," Yun replied, looking slightly hurt by my harsh criticism.

"Just keep your back away from him," Feng suggested with a shrug. Ce snorted.

"What, midget?" I asked as Ce rolled his eyes at my insult.

"Even _I_ could have thought of that, and it took you a recommendation from Feng to figure that out? Pathetic, Cheng. I swear you're going soft sometimes," Ce smirked. I rolled my eyes and affectionately ruffled his hair.

"Little tyke, don't tease your elders," Liang said quietly. Ce nodded though he muttered, "I was just joking."

We finally arrived at the Kung Fu dojo; Liang tugged nervously at his ebony and pallid striped uniform. The familiar crimson walls were crested with the golden dragon on either side, reflecting the sunshine; I shielded my eyes from the glare. As menacing as ever, the ebony gates were wide and at least ten-feet tall.

I tightened my second-degree black belt as I stepped over the threshold of the gate. As I entered there was an unmistakable air of superiority, energy, and most of all... hatred. The urge to learn self-defense, to gain power... it hung in the air and sent chills up my back. I didn't mind self-defense or Kung Fu, or energy... but the hatred scared me crapless **(A/N: I suddenly remembered that I made the rating T instead of M; otherwise I would have put the more mature version of 'crapless')**.

"Let's go," I said, mustering all my courage. "Wait!"

I threw out my arms, catching Yi and Yun.

"What?" They hissed, rubbing their abdomen muscles.

"Flatten out your hair and pop up your collar; even if we keep our back to him Master Li is sure to notice our bruises," I replied, taking my own advice as Yi and Yun followed suit.

"Okay, _now_ let's go," I grinned. We walked through the courtyard, nodding as several children wearing the basic, crimson uniform bowed to us.

"Remember when we did that?" Feng nudged me, nodding at the massive fourteen by twenty-three lines of children.

"Yeah... I kind of miss my crimson uniform; that way when I forget my techniques, there are about a hundred more kids to remind me. It's a little obvious when I look around in the advanced class," Yun commented and I shoved him.

"You could at least make an effort to remember," I snorted. Yun shrugged.

"You've known me the longest here; you should know I'm lazy," Yun replied.

"Let's go in, it's almost time," I commented. Everyone shuddered as they entered the advanced dojo. Chills crawled up my spine as I met Master Li's bloodthirsty eyes.

"A... Nǐ jīntiān de shíjiān. Chéng! Zài wǒ de yòushǒu [Ah... you're on time today. Cheng! On my right hand]," Master Li growled as one of the adult members of the advanced class moved over.

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]!" I barked as I sprinted up the stairs and stood on my directed spot on the stage in an attention stance; my hands connected behind my back and my feet spread shoulders' distance apart (**A/N: Haha, I said attention stance because I go to Taekwondo, and not Kung Fu. In Taekwondo the attention stance is "****Charyot" and that's a Korean word... if anyone knows the Chinese word for "Attention stance" can you please put it in a review or pm me so I can change it?)**

"Liang!" Master Li barked and Liang turned his attention towards him. "On my left hand!"

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]," Liang bellowed though not as obediently or as loudly as I had before he dashed to his directed spot.

"Feng, Ce, Yi, Yun! Go find spots," Master Li snarled at them as they all scuttled about to find places. Once we were all in our respective positions, we began.

"Warm up first, I'll be back after I've checked on the basic class," Master Li barked at us, a definite tone of hostility and demand in his voice.

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]," Everyone barked before stretching. I did the regular stretched: The left tendon stretch, the right tendon stretch, the groin stretch (**A/N: Sorry, there's no other name for it)**, 'the splits', the biceps tendon stretch, and the deltoid muscle stretch.

I was in the middle of twisting my neck when Master Li came in. We all broke our stretches and leapt into a mortified attention stance.

"Gěi wǒ wǔ shí zhǒu fǔwòchēng... Ránhòu wǒ xiǎng yào yīgè bǎi yǎngwò qǐ zuò [I want fifty knuckle push-ups... then give me a hundred sit-ups]," Master Li glared at us. Everyone dropped to their knuckles in unison and began the exercise.

"This isn't that hard anymore," I whispered to Feng and Liang who nodded. We had been in the advanced class the longest; Yun and Yi were managing with some difficulty; poor Ce was sweating and I could see the veins in his forehead stress against his olive-toned skin. When we were done we leapt up bridge-style (**A/N: If you don't know what that is, read the A/N at the end) **and stood back in attention stance.

"Jūgōng [Bow]!" Master Li bowed as we all bent forward slipping our heads low.

"Nǐmen de yǎngwò qǐ zuò, xiànzài [Do your sit-ups now]!"

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]," Everyone barked before falling flat on our backs. The impact was nothing; compared to the fall on the asphalt (thought that didn't hurt much) it was nothing to fall on the plastic, spongy platform. We brought our knees close to us, as if we would hug them, and began doing our sit-ups. We counted as we did them simultaneously incase someone tried to cheat (though no one would dare to in Master Li's presence).

"...Jiǔ shí- jiǔ, yī- bǎi! [Ninety-nine, one-hundred]!" We counted as we slid our knees close to our chest and jumped up bridge-style.

"Jūgōng [Bow]!" Master Li bowed as we all bent forward slipping our heads low. I dipped for a second once and brought my head back up as everyone did.

"Cheng! Gāi zhōngxīn... Jīntiān nǐ huì dǎ [To the center... today you will fight]..." Master Li's eyes searched what content we had. I winced, praying it wouldn't be my friends. Even though our school code was: 'No Weakness! No Pain! No mercy!', I could never bring myself to hurt my friends... the mortified, betrayed look in their eyes before I finished them... and the fact that they were so forgiving afterwards... it hurt too much.

"Yin!" Master Li hissed. I sighed in relief; fighting an adult, I didn't mind. It was fun to put someone older than you on the ground. We walked to the center and did the official respect stance (right fist in contact with left knife hand) and bowed low.

"Kāishǐ [Begin]!"

We circled each other, Yin was in a strange fighting stance, he kept his hands in the official respect stance but they were further apart and he crouched slightly behind his left knife hand. No matter, I would put him to the ground. I stood in a Deng Shan Bu stance and continued circling him, never once letting my sable eyes leave his movements.

I yelled and Yin leapt back; expecting an attack. This left him vulnerable and I ran and did a flying-side kick to his torso. Yin flew back but he got back up using the bridge-style jump.

Yin did a jump-front-snap kick and a back kick which I easily blocked and maneuvered a perfect dodge. I smirked as I heard Master Li's grunt of approval.

Finally Yin lost his patience and lunged with a right-hand punch. I blocked it with a knife-hand and clutched it tightly to prevent his escape. In a flurry of movements, I round-house kicked him in the gut, in his face, and pulled him over my shoulder onto the floor.

His spine let out a sickening crack as it made contact with the platform and I winced as I did a jump-pack kick onto his torso. Yin coughed, spat, and flailed afterwards. I backed up and watched him finish this at a same distance then ran, did a twist in mid-air, and landed on him with my elbow firmly placed in his gut.

"Gòu le, Chéng shèng [Enough, Cheng wins]," Master Li said gruffly. I smiled in pleasure as I brushed myself off and got off of Yin who crawled back to his position and forced himself into a standing position using one of his friends as a support.

"Lái zhèlǐ [Come here]," Master Li pointed to the spot directly in front of him. I strutted with a smirk to in front of him. He raised his hand, and slammed it into his fist; a respect sign.

"Gàn de hǎo. Huí dào nǐ de wèizhì [Good job. Go back to your position]," Master Li commanded. I made the respect sign and bowed low to the bloodthirsty man.

"Xièxiè [Thank you]," I bowed low to Master Li before hurrying back to my spot. As I walked back I realized with a heavy heart Master Li was proud of me because I had hurt another human drastically; not because of my skill in Kung Fu that surpassed an advanced adult's.

Master Li suddenly let out a yell and we all did the sweeping block, thumping the ground as we did so, and all yelling in unison in response.

"Wǒ jiào nǐ zěnme zài zhèlǐ [What do I teach you here]!" Master Li demanded.

"Méiyǒu ruòdiǎn, méiyǒu téngtòng, háo bù shǒuruǎn [No Weakness, No Pain, No Mercy]," We recited. Master Li let out a growl.

"Wǒ shuō: Wǒ jiào nǐ zěnme zài zhèlǐ [I said: What do I teach you here]!" Master Li snarled, demand high in his voice.

"Méiyǒu ruòdiǎn, méiyǒu téngtòng, háo bù shǒuruǎn [No Weakness, No Pain, No Mercy]," We chanted at the top of our lungs back at him. Master Li seemed please.

"Jūgōng [Bow]!" Master Li bowed as we all bent forward slipping our heads low. I heard the creek of the door open and looked up. Dre had walked in, and began looking around in awe. His brunette eyes suddenly met mine and his smile began faltering, whilst mine grew wider then ever.

Master Li let out a yell and I snapped my head harder than I ever had, stepping into an impressive front stance and using a scissor block, yelling back. Master Li yelled again and I let out a series of knife hand attacks, tiger claw attacks, and punches to the side in a Ma Bu stance. Dre's face was completely crestfallen and he backed out the door. Due to my elation and ecstasy at seeing Dre upset like that, it was the best performance I'd ever shown in Kung Fu.

I smiled. Today, I had been feeling good, I went to Kung Fu, raised my score to _Cheng: Four Dre: Zero_ without physically harming him (emotionally... I can't say the same), and Meiying couldn't get mad at me ...Could she?

**A/N: So what did you think of the Kung Fu chapter? Ah, Cheng could truly be a jerk sometimes... it's in his nature. Anyway, please review! And I will always answer any questions you have in your reviews, so I would like to answer Talking-Hat's question. Yes, they are speaking in Chinese, however I didn't write the words in Chinese and wrote them in English instead because the grammar really confuses me when I try and translate it; after all, I've only had one year of Chinese. I know I'm making the chapters go by painstakingly slow until you arrive at the scene where Jackie Chan kicks some ass, but I have to fill in all the missing scenes from Cheng's POV after all.**

**Always Grateful,**

**-shmankingowner44  
**


	4. Author's Note

**Author's Note **

** Unfortunately, my computer with my Chapters Four, Five, and Six crashed and refuses to turn on, so I'm having Best Buy have a look at it. In the meantime, I was supposed to update today, as an Independence Day celebration; even if I had to stay up all night. So I will begin typing again, however, the wait will be slightly longer, and I sincerely hope I can fit in Chapter Four by the end of Independence Day. If not… then I'm sincerely sorry and hope you all have a great holiday and I hope I can update soon.  
**

**Always grateful,**

**-shmankingowner44**

**P.S. I'm sorry for delaying Chapter Four as you all know that was going to be the one where Mr. Han kicks bully boys' asses .  
**


	5. Wounded

**A/N: So the long wait is finally over (not really)! This chapter didn't really go the way I planned, but I still hope you enjoy it! And if you don't, please don't chase me out of my dorm with martial arts weapons again, my roommate is mad at me.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Wounded

"So can we sleep over?" Feng asked us.

"Wait... why?" I asked bemusedly. Feng gave me a look.

"What? If you don't want to spend time with us you could just say it," Feng replied coldly. I rolled my eyes.

"Jesus... you're more emotional than Shangxiang," I snorted as Feng blubbered in protest, trying to defend himself and his girlfriend, but mostly himself. "I was just wondering why because you were at my house two days ago, and we see each other everyday at school."

"Meiying sleeps over a lot and comes over everyday," Liang pointed out quietly. I gave Liang the look Feng had given me earlier and he fell silent.

"Not my point, but..." I allowed, cautiously. If Meiying came over today I didn't want the guys around; but as Feng pointed out Meiying came over _every_day.

"So are we sleeping over?" Feng asked as I saw the lights of my house. Yi, Yun, Ce, and Liang all gave him incredulous expressions while I snorted.

"No, _no_, of course not Feng! What are you thinking? We left all your houses miles behind and are almost near mine for absolutely no reason; so I can send you back to your house," I exaggerated my sarcasm a bit. Feng looked slightly humiliated and didn't speak for the rest of the trip. It was an awkward silence, I mean, it was comfortable, but there was usually _at least_ three people talking in my socially active, idiotic, lovable, and unique group of best friends.

"Wait, can we all fit?" Yi asked me.

"Can we?" Ce and Yun persisted. I was about to roll my eyes when I realized Yi, Ce, and Yun had never slept over at my house. Anytime there was a sleep-over arrangement for all of us it was at someone else's house.

"You tell me," I gestured to the third-floor of our manor.

"That _whole _floor is all bedrooms?" Ce asked, wide-eyed.

"Two bedrooms," I corrected. "The guest bedroom and the master bedroom. The guest bed has about three twin-bunk beds and one full-bed- I would give it to Meiying, but I think Feng deserves it due to his size; no one needs him falling off the top bunk."

Feng rolled his eyes and shoved me into Liang who staggered slightly but stood me upright.

"Oh," Yi replied. I strayed away from the conversation, not wanting to socially engage with anyone... I was too busy thinking about Meiying coming over.

"You've been holding back your feelings all day haven't you," Liang whispered to me, casually edging me away from the rest of the group. If you needed to express your feelings or talk to someone, in my odd, unique group of friends, Liang would be your guy.

"Yes," I replied, exhaling sharply. I buried my face in my hands again; maybe for the seventh time this week, and I had never once in my life before this... Dre was making my life hell.

"I won't press it further, but I think you have to give up your feelings on Meiying, or you're going to just hurt everyone in the process; you, Meiying, us, and Dre," Liang suggested softly, gently prying my hands away from my face.

"No," I almost growled and Liang flinched and stepped back. "I... _love _her. Not a crush, I am _not_ crushing on her, I _love _her, with all my heart. She is my _everything_! I would sacrifice you, everyone, the world for her in an instant! What don't you people get? _LOVE_ doesn't just... GO AWAY! I always said never, I would never stop loving her; that I would never give up on her. Ever heard of the song 'Never Say Never'?"

"Wait, the song 'Never Say Never'… so doesn't that mean you would never say never, as in, you wouldn't not stop loving her? So..." Liang trailed off.

"No, I mean 'Never Say Never' as in, I will never say there will never be a possibility; don't take away my hope," I mumbled, leaving a shocked, mystified, and possibly wounded Liang standing along with the rest of my friends (who had been eavesdropping) in the middle of the dirt road.

* * *

As always, Feng was right; Meiying greeted me as I strode into my house.

"Ni-hao," Meiying sang from the couch, her hazel eyes leaving the television once to meet mine before being glued back to 'Sponge Bob'. I looked at her, mildly surprised by this overly enthusiastic greeting. My eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What?" Meiying said, a little too innocently.

"What... is... wrong?" I almost hissed. Meiying seemed slightly shocked, but nevertheless, sighed.

"I can't go to The Forbidden City," Meiying replied, her response almost reduced to a sob. I sat down and put an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm gently.

"I forgot you really wanted to go, huh?" I responded as she nodded slightly against my neck. "Wait, we have 'till tomorrow, why are you crying? Ask your parents when they pick you...?"

I fell silent at the look Meiying was giving me.

"They're on a trip to Tokyo, idiot," Meiying murmured somewhere between my shoulder and my neck.

"I'm trying to comfort you and that's what I get?" I grinned without any emotion behind it.

"I told you before, about seven times. You get that for not paying attention; why else would I be at your house for the next week?" Meiying replied coolly. "Anyway, I never got them to sign my permission slip."

My heart sang that Meiying was staying with me for a week, but this collided with my strong emotions of grief of seeing Meiying like this.

"It's not like they check right? Just sneak on board," I replied, faltering slightly as Meiying gave me 'The Look'.

"I'm _pretty_ sure the security is tighter than that anyway," Meiying sighed, the heavy mockery leaving her upset voice. We sat their silently; Meiying sobbing into my midnight and pallid Kung Fu uniform whilst I put my arm around her and tried to consol her.

When the door was kicked open we both jumped but didn't move from our positions. My friends bounded in, laughing and chattering but they all became utterly silent when they saw me and Meiying sitting in the position we were on the couch. There was about a nanosecond of silence before a huge uproar.

"If you're dating why didn't you tell me!" Feng demanded.

"Somebody looks cute together," Ce teased.

"Why were you being a jackass yesterday if you're dating her!" Yi demanded.

"Why were you being a jackass _today_?" Yun retorted scornfully.

"Now I see what you meant by 'Never Say Never'," Liang commented. Everyone, immediately and simultaneously quieted down and slowly revolved to face Liang with identical masks of perplexity.

"We're not dating," I said (as much as I yearned for it to be true), breaking up their bewilderment moment. All of my friends' faces fell and Meiying and I looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Feng demanded.

"Your faces," I gasped for breath, holding my stomach as I burst into another hysterical fit of laughter. Feng, who thought I was using the comeback 'your face', sighed, rolled his eyes, and walked into the kitchen, probably to stuff his face and raid my refrigerator again. Honestly, I had no idea why I put up with him; or how my parents still had affection for him. But then again, I did love the guy **(A/N: NO, CHENG IS NOT GAY! Just in the brotherly way he loves Feng. Besides, this is a Chenying [Chenying = Cheng/Meiying] story… sort of)**.

* * *

That night, around ten-thirty, I leapt out of my bunk bed agilely and landed on the balls of my feet mutedly. I held my breath glanced towards the door and around to room to make sure that no one had been waken. Slowly, very carefully, I walked on my toes to Feng's bed.

"Feng... wake up," I pleaded as inaudibly as I could. He grunted and rolled over. I sighed.

"FENG!" I hissed, chopping him loudly on his appendix with a knife hand attack. Feng opened his mouth to yelp but I clamped my right hand over it. Finally when I could feel the exhaling pressure on my palm cease, I withdrew it.

"Meiying's really upset about not being able to go to The Forbidden City," I whispered to Feng. Feng must have been really tired, because his brain was working slower than usual.

"So?" He blubbered, yawning. He stared at me blankly before it clicked in his head.

"Oh!" Feng realized what I was talking about. "Wait did she bring her backpack?"

Feng was a master signature forger, but that didn't mean he could make backpacks magically appear.

"Um... Operation: Break into Meiying's House?" I suggested, praying Feng would go for it. He gave me an incredulous, what-the-hell-are-you-thinking look before shrugging.

"Why not? I'm game. I'll go get my sandals," Feng grinned.

* * *

"Just jump over," I hissed to Feng. Feng was attempting to climb over my family's entrance gate, and was miserably failing due to his grip-less sandals.

"All right," Feng agreed. He sucked in a deep breath and got into a Ma Bu stance. He raised his arms once, and then brought them down, following by spreading them out, subsequently, starting the cycle over again; deeply breathing all the while. After a few times of this cycle, Feng made a triangle with his hands and exhaled sharply. Feng let out a low-yell and leapt over the fence, landing on his feet in a Ma Bu stance.

"Not bad," I grinned.

"Learned from 'The Master'," Feng grinned back and I groaned at his terrible pun.

"Dude... _really_?"

Feng rolled his eyes and gave me a goofy grin.

"Now you sound like Xia," Feng snorted.

"Speaking of that, remember earlier today when Xia teased me? Was that Xia or Da? I couldn't tell," I admitted, slightly bashful. Xia and Da Qiao (daughters of Mrs. Qiao, my History teacher, obviously; though they were mortified deeply by their mother) were twin sisters, and on Uniform Day it was impossible to tell them apart.

"I think it was Xia," Feng answered, slightly unaware as well.

"Speaking of which, it's Uniform Day tomorrow, right?" I asked Feng as we started the long, three-mile walk to Meiying's house (though compared to the Fridays where Master Li made us run ten-miles and back under half-an-hour; it was nothing).

"Yeah... why?" Feng asked, not following where I was going with this.

"I don't think Dre's mother is willing to do his laundry so early," I grinned. Feng was bemused for a moment before realization flooded his expression.

"Meiying is probably going to be mad at you, well, mad _again_ for spilling food on him on Wednesday," Feng replied and my smile faltered.

"Oh..." I responded, and that ineptly ended our conversation.

"Whoa," Feng commented in awe as Meiying's palace-like manor came into view.

"I know," I murmured in agreement.

"How are we supposed to get past that?" Feng asked me, nodding at the spikes on the gate and the fact that the walls were too high for us to jump over.

"Ugh, Meiying could have at least brought her backpack instead of waiting for us to pick it up in the morning on the way to school," I complained as I searched for an alternate route. My eyes settled on the wall on the alleyway next to the tall wall.

"Up for a little wall-to-wall jumping, Kung Fu style?" I grinned at Feng.

"What are you-?" Feng responded, his expression truly bamboozled. He followed my gaze before a grin began to gradually split across his face.

"Ō, wǒ yǐjīng zhǔnbèi hǎo le [Oh yeah, I'm ready]," Feng grinned. "You know, you should do this for a living; breaking into houses. You have Kung Fu for protection not to mention offense, you have jumping skill, flexibility, agility, you know your way around town, you can find ways to maneuver into someone's house, and you don't mind hurting people."

"That's not true; I don't mind pounding teenagers, adults, or Dre," I corrected him. "I can't beat up kids my age, girls, or little kids; makes me feel bad about it later."

"You beat me up in that match in Kung Fu last year," Feng pointed out.

"Yeah, uh, it was either, hurt you slightly, just barely bad enough to please Master Li, or get black-eyes, bruises, and broken bones for everyone," I grunted acerbically as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I never said under what circumstances," Feng shot back, before horrendously adding, "You go first."

Feng had always had Altophobia **(A/N: Fear of heights) **since he was a ten-year-old child; ever since that time he saw someone fall to their death off a roller coaster. I sighed. Bouncing on my toes a little, I launched myself against the walls, taking the full impact on the balls of my feet. Using the momentum and impact and I twisted and bounced onto the wall of the alleyway; continuing this until I arrived at the top of the wall. I caught myself, just barely; I was hanging off the front side of the walls, just barely clutching on with my toes and hands frantically grasping the holes and cracks against the wall.

"I feel like Spiderman," I grumbled pushing myself into a standing position, rubbing the dust off my hands.

"Okay... I can do this," Feng gasped, taking deep breaths. He had yet to be leaping from wall-to-wall yet his face and pajamas were drenched in sweat. Feng launched himself, using the series of parries and leaps I had just used. However, on the last bounding leap, he looked down. Feng's dark eyes widened and he flailed in mid-air.

"Jí chǔn [Dumbass]," I muttered before grabbing his hand. He almost slipped off; his palms were clammy and slippery. I nearly fell off as well when Cheng grabbed my right arm as if it were worth a million Renminbi.

"Chill out," I muttered as Feng collapsed on the wall, gasping for breath.

"If you," Feng stopped panting, his eyes and face deadly grave. "Had just experienced your greatest fear, your nightmare, what would you have done?"

Abruptly, I gasped and clutched frenetically my throat. Choking, I met Feng's knowing eyes. A sudden image had filled my head; Meiying's funeral, her marble coffin was being placed into the six-foot deep ditch. I was sobbing, clutching white roses I was about to put onto the dirt mound that now covered her. Meiying's headstone revealed that she had died, because I had failed in my task to protect her.

Feng did nothing to help me as I gasped. Finally he sighed and clapped my shoulder.

"Your worst nightmare is _NOTHING_ compared to mine," I hissed. Feng seemed slightly alarmed before he asked, "What did you see?"

Exhaling sharply I explained my vision, Feng's eyes widening and his breathing and heartbeat accelerating with every gruesome detail.

"Let's go," Feng said at once, his face whiter than bone. He leapt off the high wall and dropped onto the grassy courtyard with ease. I followed his example, effortlessly taking the impact of the fall with the balls of my feet.

"It would be easier to just sneak in the window," I commented as I prepared to leap onto the first story roof. Feng nodded and together we leapt from roof to roof until we reached the third-story.

"Window's locked," I muttered, pulling the lock. Feng was suddenly grinning.

"Don't punch the window, we'll just have to fix it later and you'll have bloody knuckles. AND I AM NOT PLAYING BLOODY KNUCKLES WITH YOU!" I bellowed when Feng grinned.

"C'mon, it's a fun game," Feng insisted.

"Yeah, maybe, but when we're on the third-story? We're _probably _going to need our knuckles on our way back," I said, my voice sardonic.

"Fine," Feng replied, pulling out a paperclip, mangling it effortlessly with his right hand. I groaned.

"What?"

"If you had the paperclip," I hissed, "We could have used that on the front door in the first place!"

"You said it would be easier to sneak in the window!" Feng countered.

"Yeah, only because then we'd have to break the lock! If you had a paperclip we could have entered through the front door, and we'd be on our way home right now!" I growled, looking quite deranged as I tugged on the roots of my untidy, raven hair.

"Whatever," Feng replied, unlocking the lock with precision and skill; with a freaking _paperclip_.

"And you think _I _would make a good thief?" I snorted.

"Sure, I can pick locks, but I never would have found a way in," Feng defended his statement made earlier.

"Just get inside," I grumbled, tired of the pointless argument. Feng pushed the window up with great effort before he waved his hand in a welcoming manner to inside Meiying's room.

"Welcome to Casa Meiying's Room," Feng grinned and I rolled my eyes and slid through the small gap the window permitted.

"You have seriously got to stop watching so many American movies," I called to Feng sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I spotted her backpack.

"Feng did you bring my father's pen from work?" I asked turning to Feng who shook his head. I groaned.

"If we use _your_ father's pen, it's kind of obvious it's forged," Feng sniggered at my foolishness. How was I supposed to know? I wasn't the master forger here.

"How?" I wondered aloud.

"Look," Feng sat down, beginning to explain. "Your father uses a low-tech, state of the art, four-hundred Renminbi pen, which is plated in gold and titanium with ink that's first class. Meiying's father uses a high-tech, state of the art, four-hundred-and-fifty Renminbi pen from nineteen-twenty-two, and is plated in gold and pewter, and uses ink that's imported from Peru and is still first class."

"How can they tell the difference between the inks?" I asked Feng and he groaned.

"Let me dumb it down for you; your father's ink is shiny blue, and Meiying's father's ink is silver. Got it, Einstein?" Feng added derisively.

"Yes, father," I grumbled, succeeding in making Feng roll his eyes. "But that just involves more work for us; we have to savage through Uncle Shao's office until we find it."

Feng sighed and patted my head.

"You'll never understand how rich people process; even if you are one. Rich people, when they often have state of the art, expensive items, put those objects on display and somewhere noticeable to show off to their friends and guests. The problem is... it will be under some high-tech security and we have to get it out, use it, and sneak it back in without the alarm going off or making it look like someone used it," Feng planned aloud. He sat there in silence as I searched through Meiying's backpack for the permission slip.

"Got it," I grinned, clutching and waving the thin piece of cerulean paper in the air.

"Cheng?" Feng jabbed me harshly on the back of my head. I rubbed my head.

"Ow," I protested. "What?"

"I need you," Feng replied. My eyes widened.

"I always knew you were gay," I snorted, half-fearfully as I backed up. Feng sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I need you _to go into the room_. Then, twist this once counter-clockwise, and tug. It should unlock the case; open it, take out the pen; I'll use it, and then put it back. Shut the case and lock it with the paper clip, push it back in and twist it twice clockwise," Feng said to me, brandishing the thin, silver

paperclip.

"And you can't do this, why?" I asked, gradually taking the paperclip clenched loosely between his index finger and his thumb.

"Because," Feng stated simply before all but shoving me out the door. I rolled my eyes and walked into Uncle Shao's office; slightly awed when I saw the pen. It may as well have been a secret laser gun; it was purely pewter from the eject button (which had a rim without any metal covering it, but a sapphire strange glow emitted from it, like the kind of glow you'd find radiating from plutonium) to the beginning of the titanium finish. From there it was made of a champagne colored metal **(A/N: Fancy way of saying gold) **and the ink release was sharper than my eye could focus on.

"Whoa," I muttered. I followed Feng's instructions exactly, inserting the strangled paperclip into the oddly shaped entrance on the case. I twisted it counter-clockwise and tugged, and as gently as my monstrous klutzy fingers would allow. A very complicated looking gold cryptex mechanically pushed out of the lock, and a shifting noise encouraged me to take the pen. I lifted up the two-inch thick plexiglass, letting the steamy mist exit the case and shafting noise finish before I made my move. I tenderly picked up the pen off of its beautifully crafted glass stand, careful not to get any fingerprints on it, and carried it back to Meiying's room; snagging a check from an open folder on the way to her room.

Feng, who was toying with the azure permission slip, looked up from his game with a grin.

"Nice, you got it; and it's not destroyed either!" Feng added mockingly; inclining his head slightly to the side to dodge my side-kick.

"Just do it… I need to see Meiying again… soon," I added in a growl, almost menacingly. My heart ached and throbbed… it felt as if sorrow was a chemical my heart was pumping through me and I could barely do anything as I crumpled to the floor.

Feng caught me as my knees buckled. As Feng was always like a caring, older brother to me, so it didn't feel very uncomfortable as I leaned my head on his left shoulder and he patted my back sympathetically.

"It'll be all right dude, you can see her again. And watch her sleep tonight, pervert," Feng added slyly, and I shoved off of him and caught his jaw with a strong uppercut.

"Agh," Feng groaned, coughing before spitting out a few drops of blood mixed in with his saliva.

"You _know _I don't do it for those reasons. I _love_ her; she owns my heart… and even if she breaks it into a million pieces, I'm not taking the ownership back," I hissed and Feng nodded.

"Give me an example of his signature," Feng responded, changing the subject hastily. I didn't need to be a genius to know who he meant by 'he'.

"Here," I handed Feng the check to one of the big taxing companies. Feng swiped the piece of yellow-tinged paper bearing Uncle Shao's **(A/N: I know I've made Cheng call Meiying's father Uncle Shao several times, but Meiying and Cheng are NOT cousins or blood-related in anyway; their families are just VERY close) **signature from my hands and stared at it with such intensity I felt the need to look away.

Suddenly Feng's eyes unfocused and a strange mist overtook them. Without seemingly looking at the permission slip, he slid it in front of him and did a sketch of something; hovering not a millimeter from the permission slip. Abruptly his hand began pumping, sliding, skating, and stroking the pen against the cyan paper which skidded gracefully across the permission slip. His eyes focused and he admired his work, comparing it to the check.

"Not my best work, but it'll have to do," Feng sighed as he handed me the check and the pen. "Remember, no fingerprints."

I rolled my eyes; what did he think I was; four? With utmost placidness I carried the expensive pen back to the case, replaced it on the glass stand, shut the case, and locked it again.

"Finally… I'll get to see Meiying again," I murmured, simply breathless with euphoria.

* * *

"Quick, put it in," Feng whispered as we glided on our toes into the guest bedroom. I dropped Meiying's backpack on top of mine and shrugged.

"Isn't it more fun if it's a surprise?" I grinned at Feng who rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, and goodnight! I need my eight hours," Feng groaned into his pillow before his slow deep breathing and gentle snoring became in-synch with all my other friends' breathing.

I however, only needed five hours of sleep, so I crouched down in front of Meiying. How my heart throbbed with adrenaline and pure joy at seeing her; it flooded my body and I nearly fell on top of her. Unconsciously, Meiying adjusted herself as she slept.

"No," I moaned in a hushed tone, gently taking a few strands of her hair and removing it from hiding her moonlight illuminated face from me. "Don't hide that from me; I've gone as long as I can go without seeing it."

I watched her beautiful face, my heart throbbing with the desire to hold her. I fought that urge back; I wasn't about to take advantage of her being asleep. As gently and as inaudibly (I truly had to struggle against the advocate to moan) I could, I tenderly and lovingly caressed her face; rubbing the back of my index finger and my middle finger from her temple to her jaw repetitively. Biting my lip as I did so, I leaned forward slightly and pressed my lips softly to her forehead.

"I love you," I murmured. In her sleep, Meiying's extravagant features were lit up with a dazzling smile, and my heart swelled with joy, even though the smile probably wasn't reserved for me, seeing her beam made my world turn upside down.

Desperate to try something, I leaned forward and made sure my lips were but a few centimeters from Meiying's ear.

"Dre," I whispered, and my heart pulsed with grief and felt as if it were shattering into thousands of pieces when Meiying blushed and buried her face in the fluffy white pillow next to me.

"Cheng," I muttered this time, and Meiying's entire little body straightened up, her face a strangled emotion; as if she was battling inwardly with herself. After awhile, her face was lit up with the same dazzling smile as before, her perfectly straight, pearly-white teeth showing this time, blushing even harder than she had for Dre. This was the last time I would ever doubt that Meiying loved me back; though she didn't admit it and know it yet, and that was just fine with me, I was willing to wait more than a million lifetimes.

I rested next to Meiying, three-fourths of my body hanging off the mattress as I didn't want my body pressed against Meiying or touching her in anyway, purely just to be with her.

My breath was taken away in a gasp as I appraised her beauty and it caught in my throat.

Meiying had an intoxicating scent; it seemed to be a mix of honey, a light and naive perfume, the sweetest smell my nostrils had ever inhaled, bubble-gum, and lilac. Her silky and shiny ebony hair fell around her in a long trail of hair, in shocking contrast to her olive complexion glinting in the moonlight. My angel's beautiful face was brightened with an alluring smile which revealed Meiying's flawless, as the crow flies **(A/N: Haha, just a hillbilly way of saying straight)**, and pallid teeth. I gawked at Meiying's skin and lips, which seemed tender, soft, and highly fragile; before blushing furiously, feeling the hotness spread to my ears, and looking away due to my vulgar thoughts.

I had fantasized gently cupping her chin in my hand and our lips meeting… the gentle, warm, _loving_, tender contact…

I gently pushed off the mattress, careful not to wake her up, and soared on my toes across the Brazilian Cherry wooden floor, up the ladder, and onto my own mattress. I couldn't deny that for once, I was glad that someone else had the bunk above Meiying's bed; someone I could trust: Ce. I smiled as I noticed Ce and Meiying slept in the same position, both having an air of innocence, love, and care hanging around them.

With that delightful thought, I buried myself deeper into my mattress, under the thick comforter, stiffening me from all further thought.

* * *

I woke up in the morning, around six A.M.; earlier than anyone else, and snuck to the bathroom. Once I arrived in my massive, nearly all pewter and gold bathroom, I dashed to the sink. Clasping the edges of the pewter sink tightly I let the sweat pour down from my matted, untidy hair. I gasped for breath as if I had just been running, and I hurled my fact into the sink, letting the cool water rush from the pipe and wash away all the sweat and worry from my head.

After I had turned of the sink, I leaned against the shower for support, trying to steady my accelerated heart and ragged breathing.

My dream- no, my nightmare, was one experience I never wanted to repeat. Dre… it had involved Dre. A little too much. A little bit of an overload. Of him.

Meiying had come up to me in the park; she had said they were friends, best friends, and that she trusted him more than me. Then she admitted to liking him, maybe even _loving _him, but not prepared to do anything because her parents wouldn't approve of her dating so early; let alone approve of Dre.

Then, during an outdoor festival, one I didn't remember the name of, though recognized well, they had shared a kiss behind a play; the play of the goddess and of the ordinary man. If that was their reason for kissing, Meiying got that right; she was definitely the goddess, but Dre wasn't even an ordinary man, he was a piece of filth known as a midget of a child.

I had remembered fully from my dream, my heart throbbing with sorrow it pumped throughout my body, aching, my head… how blood had rushed and made my head spin wildly. The last thing I had remembered was me crumpling onto the floor, the asphalt swirling up eagerly to greet my face, before I had woken up with a jolt.

I knew what I was going to do today. I was going to _hurt_ Dre, I was going to _embarrass _him on the bus… if I could. But I was certainly going to _beat _Dre; nothing was stopping me from that goal.

Hatred flooded my body and I could feel it pooling in my sable eyes, and I practically trudged into my room. I was greeted by snores and heavy deep breathing, and I cracked a small smile; letting my charade drop for a while before going back to it.

I heard bed sheets being pulled back and a feminine yawn. Meiying woke up and flashed a dazzling smile at me; which I didn't return, I just glared at her. Meiying seemed a bit thrown off by this and got up. She gently grabbed my shoulder.

"Cheng? What's wrong," Meiying said softly, and I jerked my shoulder away from her.

"Not like you'd care," I sneered coldly, not meeting her bemused, and slightly shocked hazel eyes.

"Cheng… what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" Meiying probed, tenderly touching my face.

I almost gave in then. I almost buried my face in Meiying's slender hand and sobbed. I almost told her what had happened in my dream. I almost had wanted to hear her reassuring voice say that would never happen, and it was just a dream. Too bad almost is never good enough.

"Yes," I hissed, yanking my face away from her cool, reassuring, even caring hand; all the while fighting back the desire to go right back to it.

"Do you want to talk to me about it?" Meiying asked softly.

"No," I snarled harshly, spitting in a random direction. Meiying's gentle hazel eyes were wounded, shocked, and filled with perplexity.

"Who did it? Was it someone you hate?" Meiying demanded, and I realized by 'it' she meant the cause for my behavior. I twitched and jerked, my head snapping wildly.

"Oh, oh yeah, someone I hate all right," I whispered, ready for it to end, for a clean break; so I could stop hurting myself over it everyday, so I didn't have to burn anymore…

Meiying didn't say anything, but her enraged eyes demanded silently, 'who'.

"You," I growled and Meiying stepped back, agony shooting across her face. She seemed to spasm with the pain, and I felt huge waves of remorse and my great love for Meiying crashing against my revulsion and ferocity, but I was furious enough, just this second, to fight back those waves and let me handle my business.

"Wh-what?" Meiying whispered, nearly choking, tears welling up in her hazel eyes.

"_You_. You make my life _hell_. I didn't realize until now, how could I have been so _stupid_," I sneered, giving a harsh, muted cackle. "You can't have it both ways Meiying; you can't want me as your best friend and torment me by not returning my feelings for you, and worse yet, showing them to an outsider you barely know. You can't make my life hell, and expect me to show you compassion, everyday, fighting against it. It's… not right Meiying. It's over."

Tears fell freely now, and the hurt was also accompanied by a different emotion in Meiying's eyes, hatred, loathing, _resentment_. Oh how I wanted to say I was sorry, to forget all of this ever happened, to hold Meiying in my arms and murmur apologies and soothing words as she sobbed against me… oh how I wanted too much. How could someone be so _selfish_?

"Over?" Meiying snorted. "That would hurt you more than it would hurt me; you've been nothing but a jerk since we became friends, and I don't _love_ you, I _like_ Dre. So you can rot in hell for all I care. Shangxiang and Yue… they always told me you weren't a good friend. I only stayed friends with you because of Xia and Da. They said you loved me and I should give you a chance. I wish I had listened to Shangxiang and Yue in the first place…"

I could feel agony spasm across my face.

"I do love you-!" I began but Meiying waved an impatient hand.

"Forget it, it's over, remember?" Meiying hissed, but I saw something else in her eyes. Something that says if I was willing to apologize, she would take me back as her best friend. I worked against that 'something'.

"No, I'm not going to apologize. I forgot, over right?" I sneered coldly, shattering Meiying's small ray of hope. Meiying's eyes seemed cold and dead… empty when she responded.

"I can't believe I let this go on for so long," Meiying retorted tersely. Woundingly.

"I can't believe you did, either," I responded, telling the truth. How could someone so good as Meiying stay friends with someone like me for so long?

"Is this good-bye?" I probed softly. Meiying shrugged, and for a second it seemed she was about to say, 'if you want it to be', but instead, her response cut me down, and yet, kept me from giving up all hope.

"For now."

"Oh, right, I forgot to give you this," I said in a hollow, dead tone, bending down to grab the cerulean piece of paper that I had gone through so much trouble to get. I handed her the permission slip and her eyes widened.

"Enjoy," I spat harshly, remorse and resentment for myself flooding me as I left the room to prepare for school. I heard a feminine intake of breath and a sob- Meiying.

"What have I _done_?" Meiying whispered, rue deluging her voice. Oh Meiying, you know what you've done. But I don't blame you in the slightest, not ever. Even if you've left me the way I am. Wounded.

**

* * *

A/N: Hahaha, wow, this was not at all the way I planned this chapter; but then I remembered that Cheng and Meiying don't have much contact again until the end of the movie, so for now, I'm ending it here. Well actually no, I can't, I'm to big of a Chenying fan ****; so a few nods, glances, eye meetings, and short conversations with each other throughout the story, I suppose. Sorry for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Mr. Han/Jackie Chan kick some Fighting Dragons (the name of Cheng and his friends' dojo is The Fighting Dragon, so…) ass, but I wanted to relate this chapter to how a few things affected me lately, I'm kind of in the same situation Cheng is. So, what did you think about 'Wounded'? Please review! **

**Always Grateful,**

**-shmankingowner44  
**

**Me: Wait! I'm sorry, I meant for this to be the fighting chapter!**

**Fans: Liar!**

**Me: Aw, come on! (Runs away)**

**Fans: Get him! (Chases with nunchucks, katas, kamas, and other martial arts weapons)**

**Roommate: THAT'S IT! I'm taking your computer this time!  
**


	6. The Maintenance Man

**A/N: HUGE thank you to my three _most dedicated _reviewers: _talking_hat_, _Sick Twisted Mind_, and _gleefreak123. _Without your encouraging reviews, I never would have gone this far with the story, and might've even trashed it. ****Here is another chapter, the ass-kicking one, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**

Chapter Five

The Maintenance Man

I pulled on the sickly ginger polo, and the navy sweats with grey stripes- the uniform for the field trip. I sighed. Our school had wanted us to wear our uniform on the field trip, but that didn't really increase my liking of the color orange **(A/N: Sorry to all you fans of orange, not trying to be mean to… orange, but I think the uniform looked a bit weird because of the non-contrasting colors)**.

"Need help with your tie?" Liang asked quietly. I looked up and grinned; Liang was naturally very good with formal wear.

"Yeah, thanks man," I sighed in relief. Liang stood on his toes to match my height; he tied the scarlet bandanna through my collar and admired his work.

If each and everyone of my friends didn't care deeply for me (as I did for them), possess a skill that I didn't, and be such goofy, loud people, I wouldn't know where I would be today.

"Okay, can you come into your bedroom for a second?" Liang said once he was finished appraising his work.

"Sure," I agreed in a dead tone, the events of this morning flooding my memory. I had taken a few steps when I bumped into something soft and delicate.

"Oh, sorry," I said, turning to face whoever I had bumped into, my face paled when I saw who it was. Meiying stood up and brushed herself off.

"No blood, no foul," She answered curtly… coldly. I was about to apologize for today's actions but I remembered…. It was over; clean break, as I had put it. My parents and Meiying's parents didn't know of course, and they weren't about to… but they would surely notice. I supposed a nod or a small conversation would suffice…

Oh how my heart wanted more.

"Cheng? Hello? Earth to Cheng?" Yi called, snapping his fingers in front of me.

"Y-yeah?" I responded, slightly dazed, still halfway absorbed in my thoughts.

"You know, we wanted to talk to you about something. When we woke up Meiying was crying about something but she wouldn't tell us, and after that whenever we mentioned your name, she got pissed off," Liang began, but Yun interrupted him.

"What did you do to her, jackass?" Yun demanded harshly. I flinched as if he had slapped me. Yun was never harsh or mean to me without meaning it as a joke or to mock me. I opened my mouth but no sound came out, guilt overwhelmed me and caught the words in my throat.

"Why have you been a jackass to _us_ too, for the past few days?" Feng butted in.

Again I could make no noise; I had just realized how horrible I had been to my friends when I had been brooding over Meiying and obsessing solely on her.

"Well, _thank _you, Feng, Yun," Liang sighed scathingly, nodding at each of them as he acknowledged them. "I was working on something there but I guess now, thanks to your insensitivity on this subject and your bluntness, Cheng can answer. Cheng?"

Barely hearing his words, I took a few deep breaths and exhaled sharply.

"Sorry," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The usual menace and cruelty in my voice was wiped clean; I would never use that again unless I was enraged or speaking to an enemy- Dre.

"If I could have, I wouldn't. But I… I can't take the suspense, and the torment anymore… I love her, and I figure… she would be better off without me. She deserves better," I replied. "But if Dre hurts her in anyway… I'll break him and go back to being her best friend until I can find the right guy for her… either way, it's not me.

"Anyway, I'm, really, _truly_, sorry for being a jackass to you for the past few days- I'm usually only a jackass to kids I bully, never you guys, never my brothers. But… I've been so caught up with Meiying and brooding… I just… I haven't been me," I finished lamely. My friends glanced at each other, murmuring ghostly so I wouldn't hear them. Finally they all grinned and turned to me.

"We forgive you, and we're going to help you through this," Ce grinned, before it disappeared. "But I'm curious as to what you said; you're giving up on her just like that? I thought you were positive she loved you?"

"Right… you haven't heard the full story, kiddo" I sighed, ruffling the little kid's hair again as I had done before, a ghost of a smile on my face, before recollecting and explaining last night's events to them. Every single one of my friends, including me, was smiling at the point of where we were retrieving the permission slip for Meiying (Feng and I receiving several high-fives, one-armed hugs, and looks of admiration), and we all laughed together at the points where Feng had teased me and where Feng had unintentionally looked done and nearly fallen (only now did we laugh, because Feng was unharmed); Feng grinned sheepishly and blushed as he stared at his feet.

All of their faces were teasing, and Yi even muttered sardonically, "I thought you said you weren't a pervert who watches people sleep…" when I told them about the point where I had tried out different alternatives on Meiying's dreams by murmuring my and Dre's names.

Most of their faces were accusing or filled with shock after I told them about the dream and the argument afterwards.

"So… I think for now… we're finished," I admitted, hurtfully. Feng was staring at the area above my head, behind me, where the doorway was, mouthing words, but when my head snapped around to see who he was 'talking' to, there was nobody. Feng was looking at me, eyes full of sympathy when I looked back at him.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Ce said with a merciful expression on his face when I directed my attention to him. His slightly large **(A/N: This description of Ce's eyes is not a racial statement or joke, but most **_**innocent**_** little kids I see have these, big, childlike eyes and whenever I think of little kids I think of their warm eyes, so…)** eyes were watery, yet smooth as he refused to let the tears go, like brunette orbs.

My friends all looked at me with identical masks of pity, sympathy, and… like they longed to see their own loves' faces… as if to make sure they[their loves] didn't doubt them [my friends]. Each of them clapped me on the shoulder as they left to get ready, and probably also to give me some time alone.

I shut my eyes and fell into a hurt, bizarre, and unwanted oblivion of hated memories and all of my worst nightmares.

**

* * *

A/N: If your name is not **_**Sick_Twisted_Mind**_**, ignore this Author's Note and continuing reading the chapter. So, my friend, I hope I have answered your doubts and questions about the last chapter in the conversation above. Cheng has been a jerk to his friend because he's been so obsessed and caught up with the whole Dre and Meiying affair he ignores them, says cold things, doesn't care about them (seemingly, really he would do anything for them), or takes our his anger on them, though he doesn't mean to. And your other question… Cheng freaked out about the dream because; didn't you read what I wrote **_**after**_** he said he was sure about Meiying loving him? He said she didn't know it yet and wouldn't admit it; so there was still the possibility his dream could become true (Yes, it did didn't it? Haha, I guess it's a bit of a spoiler for that chapter [I'm not telling you which one] and those who haven't seen the movie yet), so, naturally, he freaked out. **

* * *

"Feng?" Mrs. Qiao's shrill, demanding voice rang out.

"Here," Feng called back almost lazily before handing Mrs. (I'm surprised someone was willing to marry the bat) Qiao his permission slip and boarding the bus.

"Parker? Oh, err, Dre!" Mrs. Qiao called out. I realized her mistake; Dre must have put his first name first instead of his surname, a common mistake outsiders do when they first arrive in China.

I was mildly taken aback when I realized Dre would be joining us, as I didn't have him in my first period History, but then I remembered Feng and several of my other friends didn't have Mrs. Qiao first period either, so it must have been all her periods mashed onto one bus. Poor bus driver. I shot the bus driver a pitiful glance which he returned with a I'm-grateful-for-your-sympathy look.

"Here," Dre called in a shaky voice, handing Mrs. Qiao his permission slip before shooting a petrified, sideways glance at me. At first I just glared into his auburn eyes, before I grinned, realizing and recalling he was the only child in our whole History class who wasn't wearing a uniform- due to me. Meiying must have realized this at the same time I did, and I shouldn't have cared, but it still hurt when she shot an enraged glare at me.

"Xia?"

"Yes, mom?" Xia teased before rolling her eyes at her mother's scowl. "Here!"

She was about to walk onto the bus but Mrs. Qiao stopped her and eyed her meaningfully.

"Shěnpī dān, xiǎojiě [Permission slip, missy]?" Mrs. Qiao raised her eyebrows **(A/N: I think I translated that into Chinese [yes Chinese, not English] wrong, can someone who speaks Chinese tell me in a pm or a review please?)**.

"Don't you give me permission, mommy?" Xia grinned and Mrs. Qiao rolled her eyebrows and permitted her on board. Sometimes it annoyed me to know that Xia and Da took advantage of being the daughters of a teacher.

"Da? Ó, suàn le ba, zhǐyào dào chuánshàng [Oh forget it, just go on board]," Mrs. Qiao sighed exasperatedly as her second daughter opened her mouth to pull the same shenanigan. Da grinned and strutted like a show-off would have-like I had for a while when I first became the school bully- on board, earning laughs from inside the bus - Ce, Shangxiang, Yi, Yun, Liang, Feng, Yue, and Xia- and all around me.

I grinned sheepishly, and even though I only shot a swift, sideways glance at Meiying, I was sure she was smiling slightly too. Eventually, we arrived at the S's (in surnames).

"Cheng?" Mrs. Qiao called, contempt in her voice, her eyes narrowing in distaste.

I think I overdid it to aggravate her, but I still couldn't help it.

"Yes, Mrs. Qiao?" I said in an overly sweet voice, jumping up and down, imitating Meiying whenever she answered a question. Guilt and remorse flooded me, and I could feel Meiying's hurt stare and humiliation reach me from where I was, but I continued. I heard loud, howls of laughter from the bus, only Liang, the girls, and Dre didn't laugh, and behind me, nearly the whole class laughed.

"Here," I said with a grin when Mrs. Qiao got the class to settle down. I handed the ruby, infuriated woman my permission slip and strutted on board like Da had previously. Everyone laughed this time, except for Meiying.

The moment I had gotten on board something small tackled me, and whoever's plan it was, backfired, and they flew backwards onto the floor of the vehicle. Momentarily, I was surprised and looked around at my friends who were all staring at the floor. I followed their gaze and growled.

"Why did you try to tackle me, Parker?" I spat at him. He inclined his head so that my saliva missed his face by centimeters.

"Why did you embarrass Meiying like that you… you asshole! She says your families are close and that you guys are best friends," Dre barked, and I flinched. "I don't see it. You're a jerk to her, and you don't deserve her!"

He had gone far enough.

"And you do? American? Not only are you poor but an outsider," I sneered, and Dre stood up, prepared to fight.

"Oh, want a repeat of the park?" I snarled and Dre dropped his fists, wincing at the memory.

"Just don't hurt her anymore, punk," Dre growled at me, standing on his toes so he could bore his auburn eyes into my cold, sable ones. Then he whisked away, returning to his seat without a backwards glance.

I couldn't have found a more caring, loving boy for Meiying… if only Meiying's parents would approve of him… if only he could protect her as well as I could… and if only he had a brain.

"He's right," The girls said in unison, glaring at me. Apparently Meiying had told them. I winced.

"I know," I whispered, taking my seat next to Feng.

"That was pretty funny," Feng admitted with a goofy grin before his face became serious. "But I don't think you should do stuff like that anymore; no matter how angry you are at her; it's kind of your fault… and Dre's, not hers. Give it a rest."

I nodded, barely hearing his words and pain and remorse made my head pound achingly. Why couldn't the children in Beijing middle schools learn to shut up? Their annoying, deafening, pointless chatter did nothing to soothe the terrible, throbbing, painful, depressing headache I had. I leaned my head back against the leather seat; trying to forget the headache that so badly made me want to hold onto Meiying and forget about everything else in the world.

**

* * *

A/N: Oooh, that was cold Cheng. –Ducks as you all throw javelins or some such items at me- I know, Meiying is receiving too much heat, but wait till you see the revenge she's planning for him.**

* * *

"So, Xia, do you think I should do it?" Meiying's sweet, musical voice pulled me out of my oblivion of pain.

"Oh… what?" Xia asked a little bluntly, with a sheepish smile at forgetting. The girls laughed and Meiying rolled her eyes.

"Ask Dre out, I mean he's so… cute, nice, brave, smart, and fast… and he's just an outsider and I know my parents won't approve of him. It would be quite the thrill to date him, no?" Meiying beamed, and my heart was starting to shatter.

"Yeah, and you guys have such great chemistry!" Xia agreed.

"Yeah, he's way better than Cheng, he won't _hurt_ you," Da seconded Xia's statement, frowning fiercely at me. I looked down, ashamed.

"He's so sweet to you, he's such a gentleman," Yue smiled, before evilly shooting a sideways glower of displease at me.

"Yeah, and he's not a _jackass_," Shangxiang beamed, also glaring daggers at me. If looks could kill, I would have ducked.

"Okay, enough Cheng bashing," Yi began hastily, but I could practically hear Meiying's silent, 'Oh no, I don't think so'.

"I'll kiss him, I'll take him to that festival, and I'll take him to that play, and I'll kiss him," Meiying declared proudly, and my face all but sunk below the seat in front of me. I buried my face in my hand, and unashamedly sobbed; taking my time to stop and wipe away the tears.

I glanced up and met Meiying's concerned, hazel eyes.

"Yes?" I asked coldly.

"Are… are you okay?" Meiying asked hesitantly.

"Why would you care? You did that on purpose anyway," I sneered, and stared straight ahead. I could feel Meiying's shock and wounds transform into realization as she remembered our situation. She turned back to glare straight ahead at the back of Mrs. Po's head (I was still unaware why the assistant principal had to come with us on the field trip).

"That was a bit overboard Mei," Yue whispered to Meiying who looked slightly remorseful.

"You should mean it when you say it, you know you have a crush on Dre, you don't _love _him yet. You don't know if you'll kiss him, you're too timid and high-class for stuff like that- stuff that you're unsure of," Shangxiang seconded. I didn't like the way Shangxiang had said, 'yet'. Meiying had said Shangxiang and Yue didn't approve of me… how strange, strange that they would support me then… I mean, I had been friend with those two the longest because of Feng and Liang, but still… but then I realized, I was still their friend, they still cared for me, they just didn't like the way I hurt Meiyi **(A/N: Not a grammar/spelling mistake, I deliberately typed Meiying's name like that; Cheng hasn't used his nickname for Meiying in too long ****:])**.

Sorrow, grief, and remorse were all like a chemical, being pumped through me by my heart, steadily burning me, hurting me, wounding me… I could feel the chemicals throbbing in my veins.

"Meiyi, can… can I… are you and your parents coming for dinner tonight?" I finally amended whilst leaning forward in my seat, my heart warming and a tingling feeling running through my tongue at using her nickname, at the same time, I was preparing for any backlash. I winced, preparing for her answer. What I didn't expect was total silence, and shifting next to me.

"Stop wincing," Feng said, and his voice sounded strangely distant, as if he were far away rather than right next to me. I opened my eyes and searched around for him, and I was surprised to find the person's company whom I desired most next to me.

"Hai!" Meiying said in her adorable Chinese accent, speaking to me in English for the first time in a while.

"Hey Meiyi! But can I talk to you about what's bugging me? I just… I'm not ready to be best friends again Meiyi, you and Dre have hurt me too much, and you said good-bye… for now. I agree, 'for now'… we'll just be friends… and always be there for each other, right? Wow, does that sound corny?" I finished lamely, and Meiying rolled her eyes.

"Wow, way to ruin the sentimental moment, Cheng," Meiying said sarcastically before I gave her a goofy grin. For a moment, in her eyes and our shared smiles, it felt as if we were best friends again… and more than that… again. For a moment.

Meiying reached out to ruffle my hair, and in return I took her hand and gently squeezed it, before letting go, reluctantly. All my friends 'Awwwed' and I rolled my eyes; however I was slightly shocked to find that Yue and Shangxiang hadn't. In fact they were eyeing me wearily, as if I would suddenly hurt Meiying again.

Not now… not when we were both on the mend… but I knew I would slip up again, until Dre was completely erased from my life. I glared, letting my eyes bore into each one of theirs- Did they really think I would let anything hurt Meiying? Or that I would hurt her again, meaningfully? - before I glanced back at Meiying who was still smiling tentatively. How I had missed this.

* * *

I gently squeezed Meying's hand when we arrived at The Forbidden City gates.

"It seems Dre's expecting you, I'll be with the guys if you need me," I smiled warmly, nodding at the caramel skinned boy who was staring backwards at Meiying with a expectant expression, yet it was gentle and accepting at the same time, as if he'd be fine if Meiying didn't want to hang out with him, (I was grateful that I had found such a good match for Meiying) and was dazed by the alluring smile I got in return. Everyone began leaving, and soon only Yun, Meiying, Xia, and I were the only ones left on board.

"She won't _need_ you, for awhile," Yun grinned, popping in another innuendo at a much needed time. However, that didn't stop me from aiming a light, playful punch at his kidney.

"Ow," Yun complained under his breath. Well I _thought_ I had punched him lightly. Yun walked over to Xia and wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you," He murmured; he pressed his lips to her neck before muttering, "How was your day yesterday? Is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?"

"Let's not talk," Xia responded with a devilish grin, placing her pixie-like index finger on Yun's full lips.

"Please, please, _please_ get a room for your honeymoon," I groaned, half-jokingly, half-pleadingly. I grabbed Meiying's hand and rushed from the bus.

"How can you stand them doing that in the middle of a bus!" I demanded to Meiying, who seemed not to have heard me.

"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Meiying faked vomiting and we laughed lightly. Our laughter was light and joyous, not full of humor and hearty like it had been when we were best friends. Not like the kind of laughter I missed the most between us. Meiying strayed away from me, to her friends, who immediately engulfed her in questions, demands, and loud, shrill, squeals I could not comprehend. Fighting back the advocate to reach out for her and pull her back to me, I directed my attention at Mrs. Qiao.

"Welcome to The Forbidden City!" Mrs. Qiao sang, and I rolled my eyes.

"Somebody needs singing lessons," Feng muttered under his breath, materializing out of nowhere next to me with all my other friends. I grinned.

"Yeah, Feng 'cause you can sing," I joked playfully, lightly punching Feng's shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, not my fault Mr. Cao **(A/N: Yes, it's pronounced cow. It wasn't meant to be a joke, and it is/was really a Chinese surname, but I just realized how goofy that last name would sound to people from American culture)** thinks I have a soprano voice, I'm certain I have a bass voice!" Feng insisted when I nudged Ce and we both rolled our eyes together, as did the rest of my friends.

"Yeah, maybe when you talk, but when you sing…" Liang trailed off, not wanting to be the one to deliver the harsh but light and joking statement. Yi and Yun, the two twin brothers **(A/N: Have I mentioned that before? If I haven't, then you know now, and just to let you know, they're forensic twins [non-look alikes], so that explains why in the film none of Cheng's friends look like each other)**, were more than happy to step up to the job.

"You sound like a broken piano!" Yi and Yun said in unison, both receiving a smack on the head in return from Feng. Ce, Liang, and I laughed.

"Never tease someone who's six-feet tall, it's just not safe," I advised mockingly to Yi and Yun who rubbed their heads simultaneously (it's always had me curious how these two could be so alike yet look so different; barely related even) and both shot death glares at me.

"Don't glare at him, doesn't make things better at Kung Fu matches," Liang muttered quietly and Yi and Yun both stared at the floor. It was at this time I truly realized the extent of my… jerk-ness towards my friends for the past few days, the fact that I was actually _willing_ to fight them to get away from all my troubles… I shuddered; how I be such a dire, _cruel_ person?

We arrived at the massive gate known as the gates to The Forbidden City. I gazed up at the massive, scarlet gates and all the golden knobs leading up to the top. For some reason, I had remembered as a child my mother had told me that rubbing them gave you extremely good luck.

"Aren't you going to rub one of the knobs?" Ce asked with a goofy grin on his face.

"I think there are people who deserve luck more than I do," I admitted, feeling bashful at all the horrible things I had done to Meiying ever since Dre had come, glaring at the stone floor.

"Besides, he doesn't need to get _lucky_ tonight, anyway," Yun grinned, dancing out of the way of my playful jab. Seriously, what was with this kid and innuendos? I really didn't understand how a twelve-year-old kid could be so chocked full of them.

"You watched that health video two years ago, you didn't even know about _it_, how could you be so obsessed with _that_ now?" Feng snorted. "I'm fifteen, and I don't even say the word."

"Sex?" Yi said straightforwardly. We all revolved leisurely to face him and give him the what-the-hell look.

"It's a sensitive subject, where do you and your brother end up getting so blunt?" I wondered aloud as the twins grinned at each other.

"It's a talent," Yun replied, taking a bow, and we couldn't all help but laugh. I leaned against the railing and spotted Meiying, but the person she was near… I couldn't help but let a growl slip out.

Feng, who was talking to Ce and Liang, noticed and turned to face me.

"What now...?" Feng muttered before he followed my gaze and his exasperated gaze turned to one of understanding. He clapped me on the shoulder.

"Just ignore it, bro," He whispered so only he and I could hear. I nodded, but I didn't take his advice.

Watching wearily as Meiying approached Dre, I unintentionally began eavesdropping on their conversation. Meiying gently grabbed Dre's hand and pulled it to one of the golden knobs, and I couldn't help but snarl. How dare she… make physical contact with him…

"You know, if you rub a knob, it gives you good luck," Meiying said softly to Dre in her adorable Chinese accent. Dre seemed to be in a trance as he gazed into her hazel eyes before grinning and turning back and rubbing every single knob he could get his hands on. He slipped off his backpack and stood on his toes to rub some of the out-of-reach knobs. I snorted and rolled my eyes. Midget.

Meiying giggled and I winced- he could make her laugh. Meiyi suddenly stopped smiling at him and followed his gaze to me. I immediately turned my attention to Liang and laughed at a joke he just cracked even though I didn't hear it; Dre didn't need to know I was eavesdropping. Meiying already knew.

"I wish some would just-," Meiying began but Dre forced a grin and interrupted her.

"Yeah… me too," He replied, slinging his backpack back on his shoulder and following the class as Mrs. Qiao began walking again. The rest of the trip was quite interesting actually, but I found that I frequently kept slipping and letting my mind wander back to my dream- or when Meiying touched Dre's hand…

* * *

I glared at the back of Dre's head as he sighed and looked out the window. Suddenly an evil plot formed in my head.

"Liang, switch places with me," I grinned and tugged Liang out of his seat. Both Feng and Liang seemed mystified, but Liang moved willingly. I grinned, prepared to execute my heinous plan, but Mrs. Po looked around the bus. Her eyes rested on Dre and I straightened up and forced a grin. I turned and conversed with Yi who seemed surprised by the sudden discussion but then he noticed Mrs. Po.

His eyes locked with mine and he gave me a silent 'that-was-close,-be-careful-with-your-plans' look. I inclined my head slightly as we talked, and nobody but Yi could have known I was nodding.

* * *

"I feel like we're being followed," I complained as we got off the bus.

"Yeah, because there's a constant stream of kids exiting the bus after us," Feng rolled his eyes, gesturing behind us. I glared at him.

"You know that's not what I meant," I grumbled and Feng looked astonished.

"Actually I thought you were joking… now that you mention it," Feng said standing up erectly, moving his ears, inclining his head, shifting his eyes, in other words, using his extended Kung Fu senses. "I can feel a different aura, a strong, really brilliant aura, like a bright light, directed right after us."

"Do you guys feel that?" Ce asked, bounding up towards us with Liang, Yi, and Yun who all had the same, bemused expression as us.

"Yeah, I… let's go somewhere populated, that way if they're following us, we can lose them easy; I'm not scared! But Meiying doesn't like it when I fight," I grumbled, more than eager to fight whoever was following us.

"Let's just go hang out in front of Beijing High," Liang suggest quietly and Yun immediately seconded his suggestion.

"I think we should!" Yun piped up.

"If the only reason you want to go to Beijing High, is so you can meet with Xia and make-out with her, I'm totally going home," I muttered as my friends and I headed for the high school complex. A murmur of agreement ran through my friends but Yi let out a startling whine. Every single one of us leapt, and I turned around, walking backwards as we neared the high school complex.

"What, the hell, was that?" Feng said slowly, voicing my thoughts.

"I have to wait until he's done to go home," Yi whined.

"Now you understand why I love you, understanding, older twin brother," Yun sang, slinging an arm a little too tightly around Yi's neck. Yi made choking noises in protest and we all took steps towards him, but Liang was the only one able to aid him as we all were trying not to crack up and assist our friend.

"See," Yun cried happily, as if he had evidence to prove a case that would make him rich, slinging his backpack off his shoulder and plopping himself on one of the concrete stairs leading to the entrance of Beijing High. "No Xia… wait that doesn't make me happy."

Feng rolled his eyes.

"Look at this stupid, flimsy, street bike? It's rusty as hell," I sniggered, picking up a nearby bicycle that looked... honestly, terrifyingly hobo-like compared to our silver dirt bikes at home.

"Mílù, Chéng [Get lost Cheng]," An old, plump, man with a harsh stubble barked, waving his hands to get rid of Feng, Yun, Liang, Ce, and I as if we were pesky flies. We sneered and headed towards the thick stairs; high-fiving each other as I called back, "Bùguǎn jiéguǒ rúhé, Yéye [Whatever, Gramps]."

"Make up your mind, little witch twin," Feng grinned, teasing playfully from Yun's last comment. He danced out of the way of Yun's side-kick, and sat down next to him. Ce took the last step available, and Yi and Liang leaned against the two-foot thick, pale grey, concrete railing.

"I bet Cheng wishes Meiying was here," Ce teased.

"No I don't!" I full-heartedly lied; aiming a false punch at Ce, careful to miss him by inches.

"Hey, show-off, why don't you do the Fighting Dragon signature?" Yi called, cupping his hands around his mouth as if he were a fan requesting a song or a move to a famous singer.

I grinned, and began, twisting my hands in a series of parries, blocks, knife hand attacks, fists, tiger palms, leaning in front stances, back stances, Ma Bu stances, cat stances, walking stances, and sneak-attack stances. I was just about to do the grand finale, the Crane kick, when some gooey, russet-and-grey, warm substance showered on me.

At first I was befuddled, but the scent pierced and scared my nostrils (sometimes extended, highly-sensitive Kung Fu senses were a nuisance) told me it was raw sewage. In a rage I spun around for who had thrown the repulsive substance on me, but Ce pointed it out.

"Parker!" He growled, jabbing his finger in the direction Dre was running. We all took off, sprinting after the small boy. I snarled, he had gone too far, and I hadn't even done anything to him today… yet.

I was remotely astonished; I had expected to catch the American in a few short strides, but he was still ahead of us by a good ten feet. But he wasn't used to jogging long distances unlike us, so he gradually began to tire. Eventually, when he was close enough, so that my fingers could nearly clutch his cobalt t-shirt, or maybe his grey long-sleeved shirt, a watermelon cart arrived, giving Dre a good three more feet ahead of us. Furiously, I jumped over it, and I slowed my running (giving Dre a ten-foot space between us again) to make sure all my friends were okay, and they had made it. Reassured by the sound of five other pairs of heavy footfalls, I sprinted faster.

Dre leaped on a cardboard box, a plastic cart, and soared high enough to run on the roof of a short, slum building. Since my friends and I were all heavier (except for Ce, who was probably lighter) we took Master Li's advice and shifted our weights around our thighs and calves, never on our feet so we wouldn't crush the cardboard box or the dirty, garbage cart.

Again, in a few moments, I was close to Dre, my fingers brushing against his cobalt t-shirt… but too late; Dre had slid down the silver, thin rooftop and leapt off the building into a narrow alleyway. I growled, how did he keep getting away from us? This boy was fast, and I mean _fast_.

I soared off the rooftop, not bothering to check if my friends had made it, but I knew they had, I heard their shoes pounding against the stone floor behind me.

Soon, yet again, I could almost get a grip on Dre, there was only a foot between us. Dre must have realized this at the same time I did, because he knocked over several plastic, bottle green baskets containing dark tan beer bottles. I halted immediately, shooting an arm out to prevent my friends from being damaged by the broken glass.

Dre's petrified brunette eyes bored into my sable ones, and I could find nothing in my heart that wanted to forgive him or didn't absolutely despise him that instant. Finally, I drew a sharp breath and bounded over the glass, barely missing a small fragment that I nearly tripped over. Poor Dre's (or should I say, pitiful, pathetic Dre's) eyes widened and he turned around and began dashing away again. Unfortunately, my friends and I stopped running due to a missing member of our throng. Worriedly, at the same time impatiently, I searched for my friend… where was he? Was he okay? I turned around. Oh.

"Yi, grab Ce and toss him over," I barked, and Yi and Ce, who were still behind the beer baskets, looked up at me with a pair of petrified, and a pair of understanding eyes. Apparently, Ce had a breakdown, and was too mortified to jump over the glass, in fear of being injured. I didn't resent him at all, I could recognize and relate to the younger boy's fear.

"Wait, what-?" Ce demanded, but Yi wrapped his arms around Ce's little body, took a step back, and heaved, before hurling him into Feng's waiting arms.

"Jump over!" I called, and Yi quickly hopped over the broken glass and we turned and continued our pursuit.

"The gate! Hurry!" I called to my friends, but it was too late. Dre had shut it, and probably wrapped metal wire or some such bonding material between the crevice of the shiny, silver lock; making it impossible to come in from the outside.

We pounded on the gate to no avail; our fists couldn't break through metal, and by the time we'd have dented it enough to break through, we'd be bloody and broken. I had an idea, but if I spoke it in English… Dre would scamper away again, and we would never catch him… the kid was way too swift. Yet what I would give to see the awe, fear, and shock in his eyes… to see him scamper away like the rat he was…

"Féng, wǒ yào qù tiào le qiáng, zài zhuīzhú dé ruì. Nín ànzhào wǒ zhīhòu, bìng dǎkāi dàmén ràng biérén jìnlái le ma [Feng, I'm going to jump over the wall and chase Dre again. You follow in after me, and open the gate to let everyone else in. Got it]?" I ordered. My best friend grinned at me.

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]," Feng responded with a goofy but eager grin on his face.

Feng and I stood side by side in the Ma Bu stance, preparing our legs for the impact. We inhaled and exhaled deeply, and leisurely, swinging our arms back and forth… eyes closed. I let out a hiss before launching myself over the wall.

I landed on the stone on the other side of the scarlet gate on my palms and the balls of my feet. Dre's eyes widened in awe and dread before he turned and sprinted away.

Snarling, I chased after him again; I heard Feng land a few seconds after I did, a wrenching sound, and my friends eager shouts as they trampled in. Dre ran for his apartment, running through the bottle green gates. I roared and together, Feng, Ce, and I burst through the gate.

My eyes scanned around for him, and I finally found him, by the entrance, repeatedly tugging at it. He was screwed and he knew it, so why didn't he just give up?

Dre spotted me and ran for a few stacked boxes, attempting to escape me again. Oh no… he wasn't going to escape my wrath this time… Easily, I caught up to him, grabbed the collar of his navy T-shirt, and dragged him to the floor.

He fell with a sickening crack. I watched, amused, by his attempts to escape. Ce and Feng flanked me, though they didn't step forward or attack as I approached the scrambling Dre.

Yi and Yun, who had just entered, caught Dre, and forcibly twisted him around to face me. I jerked my head at Liang who nodded and locked the gate, shooting Dre a piteous glance before darting around me to join Ce and Feng.

Oh how I was going to relish this moment.

"You're _fast_," I grinned at him, speaking in English, slightly circling as I drew closer to the circling Dre. I almost felt pitiful as I stared into Dre's petrified and pleading brunette eyes, but I brushed that feeling aside; _enough_ I scolded myself, how could I nearly pity this piece of filth? I twisted my face into a grimace.

"But not fast enough," I snarled, twisting my right and more powerful fist up before I released my rage, desire of vengeance, and power into a striking uppercut, catching Dre in the gut. His face turned red as he choked, spit flying off his lip, and sweat sailing off his caramel forehead.

I hit him again, twice more, another uppercut, but with my left fist, and a final right uppercut. Sweat, crap, and other unspeakable things from the sewage dripped off of me as my lower lip twisted and I threw my hands in front of my before hurtling them back, letting all my force go into a front-snap kick, making sure the whole of my foot caught Dre's tiny torso, sending him flying backwards as Yi and Yun released him.

I stepped forward, uncontrollably grinning like a villain about to steal some poor girl's virtue or some such drama **(A/N: Hahaha, incase you haven't noticed, I'm going to be/have been stealing some lines from Eclipse. I hope the wonderful, beautiful, talented, and creative Stephenie Meyer is cool with that)** as I watched his read face twist up in pain, coughing and spluttering before his lower lip began to quiver before tears fell freely on his face. Almost, just almost, I almost felt regret. Ah, well… it was _almost_.

I stepped forward menacingly, prepared to deliver the final blow, but someone grabbed my shoulder.

"He's… in pain. I think… I think he's had enough Cheng," Liang said softly, eyeing the blood-stained, crying boy with a tender, pitying gaze.

"Tch. What does Master Li always say to us?" I demanded of Liang before answering my own question. "No weakness, no pain, no mercy!"

I looked back down at Dre, prepared again to hurt him, drastically, to beat him bloody, to make him regret ever being born… so that I wouldn't have to fight for _my_ Meiying anymore… so I could be _me_ again.

"Cheng," Liang said warningly, grabbing my hand. "He's had _enough_."

I snorted and shook him off, grabbing his arm, twisting it (only enough to get him to back away, not enough to hurt him), and throwing him back into Feng. Ce looked back and forth between us, and I could not help but feel the rise of tension in the atmosphere.

Twisting my fist as hard and as powerful as I could make it, I pulled back, and let it out full force. However, I didn't hear the cruel, sickening crack of pain I was going for, or the bloodcurdling scream of pain from Dre. Instead my view was blocked with a very dark azure jacket, a fading, pale gray shirt, and a fist clutching my own.

I looked up into an ancient face with strangely placed raven hair, covered with a cap the same shade of azure as his jacket. His olive toned complexion was designed with wrinkles, sweat, and… a strange emotion, somewhere torn between, acceptance, recognition, detestation, and amusement.

His sable eyes, the precise same shade of mine, bored into my own. I noticed, by the tag on his name, this was a maintenance man. What beef did this man have with me?

"Huí jiā [Go home]," The man jerked his head at me, before curling my wrist inwards, the strain of muscle already being tightened into a fist causing me to yelp out in pain. I gasped as he threw me back, clutching my hand.

He glared at us before he bent down to check if Dre was all right, to see if he had sustained any injuries. I spit and snorted, who did this man think he was? Did he think I would feel bad hurting an old, maintenance man? Because if he did, he was sadly mistaken.

I could feel all my friends step forward furiously, to take revenge on the man who had hurt one of their brothers, but I flung my arms out, preventing them from moving further. Slanting my head slightly, nodding, as if to say 'I got this', I pushed them back.

Sneakily, making sure my sneakers moved inaudibly, I glided across the stone floor, charging up all the power in my left leg. Once I arrived I released all the stress and power in my leg, yearning to come out and cause havoc, to cause damage, in a round-house kick.

However, what shocked me the most, was not the fact that my foot didn't make contact with the maintenance man's face, but the fact that he caught my foot easily, and agilely for someone so ancient, without so much as a whimper. Was I just that weak, or was he just that powerful?

He leaned his head, still gripping my foot harshly, to once again, bore his sable eyes into my own. If this was a rated PG action film, some dramatic fight scene music would start playing right about now.

Never once breaking eye contact with me, never once losing focus, the man clutched my shin with such ferocity it ached. He lifted my leg straight up; pain shot through my calves to my thighs, my hamstring about to burst. But the man wouldn't let that happen, I could see in his eyes he was too compassionate. With as much force as the man could muster, he hurtled me onto the floor, Yi barely catching me.

Feng charged him with a round-house and the maintenance man easily blocked it, clutching his leg only until Feng swung a right hook, which the man ducked under swiftly before shoving him back.

Yi got into a fighting stance, and simultaneously, his twin did too. Yun and Yi charged at the man, both aiming a straight punch for his face. Using their un-punching arm to steady himself, the man swung back, hanging from their arms and dodging both of their punches. I watched in awe, and truth be told, envy; since when did a maintenance man do Kung Fu better than six black belts on the advanced team?

As his nametag hurled off his jacket and skidded across the stone floor to bump softly against my elbow, I noticed the man's name, or well, surname: Han.

Mr. Han, who still had maintained his grip on Yi and Yun's elbows, pulled them together, their foreheads making a sickening crack as they collided and nearly crumpled to the floor. However, Mr. Han steadied them and shoved them back, Yun landing harshly on the floor doing a summersault, and Yi shoving straight into Feng who fell to the floor; his unbalanced weight combined with Yi's bringing him down.

Liang watched, too stunned to do anything. Thankfully Yi came to his senses at the right moment, unlike Liang, and he and Ce, together, circled Mr. Han, gradually closing in on him. Nodding and catching Ce's eye, Yi hurled a punch at Mr. Han at which Mr. Han effortlessly ducked under and grabbed Yi's wrist, pushing his face away incase Yi tried to do or say anything stupid; if it were me, that would be practical, but Yi… _much _more practical.

Abruptly, Ce went in for a jump-side-kick, which the maintenance man was prepared for, and spun Yi around so he would be kicked in the chest. Clutching his torso, Yi fell to the ground. Ce, who was unsteady, threw his arms out which Mr. Han caught and whirled him around to face Feng (who had just gotten up); and Feng's front-snap kick caught Ce square in the chest. I winced as my friends were beaten, struggling to get up and assist them, however my hamstring was still damaged and I could do nothing but watch vulnerably.

Grimacing slightly from the weight, Mr. Han picked up Ce and flipped him behind his back, causing Ce to fall into a dustbin (**A/N: Chinese/British/Indian way of saying trash can, not really a bin of dust)** which immediately toppled over at the sudden weight. I flinched as did all of my friends watching.

Forcing myself up, I sprinted towards Mr. Han. I tried to ambush him with a round-house, or a hook-kick, depending on which perspective you gaze at the kick from, but he blocked it. Yi, who was in a better condition than his brother, got up and charged at Mr. Han, who caught him, spun him around, and threw him into me, both of us landing on the floor cruelly; tangled up in each other's limbs.

Yun bridge-style leaped up (**A/N: Yes, **_**talking-hat**_**, the bridge-style jump is the one that Cheng performed at the park when Dre socked his face, "Go Dre!") **and aimed a rising-kick at Mr. Han's head. Almost with an amused expression, the maintenance man stepped away from the kick and seized Yun's ankle, before tugging him closer and body slamming him onto the limestone floor.

Liang, the gentlest yet one of our deadliest fighters, crawled sneakily around Mr. Han, finally coming to his senses, attempting to go for an ambush punch. However, Liang's slight tripping on a pebble gave him away (though it was a rather subtle sound), and Mr. Han hurtled around and clutched his fist, preventing Liang from damaging Mr. Han. With a jolt, I realized that none of us had made contact or even wounded Mr. Han in the slightest. The ancient maintenance man scooped up Liang and spun him in a circle, one of his flailing limbs catching Feng in the jaw. Feng staggered backwards and his weight caught onto a chain connected to two cinder blocks with cones sitting firmly atop them each; one of the ginger cones fell on Feng's chest though it didn't seem to have as much of an effect as the spine-cracking fall and the chain whipping against his flesh.

Ce struggled out of the dustbin and flung an aimless punch at Mr. Han witch he caught, ducking under Ce's hook which he had bowled with so much power that it swung back and slapped me; I had wrenched myself off the floor and tried to aid Ce. Clutching my face, I stumbled backwards onto the floor. I grinned as I saw Feng bound off the floor, dust himself off, and secretly aim for ambushing Mr. Han.

Mr. Han twisted Ce's hands together and was ready to punch, but I saw hesitation and pity in his eyes; not once had Mr. Han actually damage us, but made us attack each other, so he wasn't used to inflicting pain on us, not only that but he was too compassionate and loving to hurt a young, little child like Ce. But he wasn't compassionate enough to not let Feng do it.

Feng aimed a back-knuckle at Mr. Han which he without difficulty, slapped away, causing it to hit Ce's right eye.

"Ow!" Ce protested, clutching his eye. Feng was about to apologize when he noticed another attacking opportunity. Yi, Feng, and Yin began to hurtle aimless and in vain knife-hand attacks, blows, and kicks, but Mr. Han blocked them all, dancing around them, dodging and blocking every single assault, occasionally causing them to harm themselves or each other. I screamed as my hamstring fully popped and my wrist, already damaged from Mr. Han before, twisted and cracked.

This time, Mr. Han clutched the sleeves of Feng's jacket, wrapped a sleeve around Yun's punch, a sleeve around Yi's kick, and used Feng's poorly intended kick and shoved it into my torso. Yelping in pain, I fell back, my head colliding with the limestone floor with a sickening crack. I moaned as my head throbbed and my chest pounded in writhing agony.

My eyes bleary with tears, I noticed that Dre was a few feet from me, still clutching his aching chest. For once, I ignored the caramel boy, and turned my attention back to the Kung Fu Master who had just shoved back Feng, Yi, and Yun, still tangled up, with enough force to split the earth in two.

His chest heaving, Mr. Han turned his back on the only two standing of my poor, beaten friends: Liang and Ce.

"Oi!" Ce cried, lifting his fists into a fighting stance, ready to defend his friends and eager to fight. I wasn't; well, I wasn't eager to fight, I wanted defend my friends though.

"_Huí jiā_ [_Go home_]," Mr. Han repeated, a little more forcefully this time. His chest positively heaving, sweat running down his face, Mr. Han hunched over as he limped towards Dre. At first I thought we had actually injured the man, before I realized, a bit disappointedly, that he was ancient, and exhaustion probably didn't cope well with his system.

Scooping up Dre with no trouble, the old, ancient man hobbled away; leaving us beaten, bloody, and most importantly, without our dignity. My head throbbed, and not only with agony, but with the sad realization that my friends and I, Kung Fu prodigies, on the advanced team, had just been beaten by a maintenance man. A _maintenance man_. No, not a maintenance man. _The_ Maintenance Man.

**A/N: And there you have it, the chapter full of ass-kicking and other such awesomeness here. So what did you think? Please review! Oh, and if you're wondering how I remembered _every exact detail _of the fight, I pulled a bit of a geeky stunt: I watched the movie again about a few hours back and wrote down everything that happened and that Mr. Han said and did on a notepad. Geeky, aren't I? :P **

**Always Grateful,**

-**shmankingowner44**

**Me: HAH! I gave you what you wanted, this chapter had the ass-kicking! So now you have to excuse to attack me.**

**Fans: So? This chapter was still under ten-thousand words.**

**Me: … F-censored-k. **

**Fans: Get him! (Chases a petrified me out of his Dormitory again with weapons)**

**Agitated Roommate: Honestly dude, I have no idea why you include me in these stupid comic strips; I mean there aren't even pictures!**


	7. Again with the Kung Fu

**A/N: Thank you again to all of my loving, supporting fans, you guys ROCK! I love your comments and I laugh at the funny ones (i.e. **_**ItalianBabe**_**'s****second comment as well as**_** Kpopfangirl**_**'s second comment). ItalianBabe, I thank you greatly for your informing review, I think I'll used it for the next chapter (well I'm planning on using it on this chapter, but I'm going to **_**dedicate**_** the chapter after the next to that) and another one in the future (hint, hint). Haha, I think I'm a little too old (considering that I'm nineteen; I say I'm twenty to make myself feel older) to be saying this, but Meiying/Wen Wen Han (saying Wen Wen is pretty is easier than saying Meiying, since Wen Wen is fifteen [?] and Meiying is twelve) really is a beautiful flower. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter Six

Again with the Kung Fu

"Ugh, we have to go to Kung Fu class after this," Ce complained as Meiying wrapped medical tape around his ribcage injuries. We had barely made it, most of us leaning on each other for support or limping to my house (which was the closest); taking a shower (only I had needed to due to the shi- sewage water) wasn't remotely easy as I had to constantly lean on my right leg or the wall when I scrubbed myself with soap. Like usual, Meiying was there to greet us- _me_ (my heart warmed at that thought) and she was the only one skilled at First Aid (as she paid attention in Phys Ed) so she was now mending our injuries in the guest bedroom. Liang was the only one who had received minor injuries; a few cuts on his face (covered in an sticky, mint-green ointment Meiying had applied, which apparently stung a lot as Liang had winced repeatedly and jerked back at during this) and a few fractured fingers (which were wrapped in medical tape). With pitiful but feeble eyes, Liang watched us groan and fight back roars of agony.

We were all in much worse condition, Feng and Yun being in the worst condition followed by me, then Ce, then Yi.

Feng had fractured his jaw and two of his ribs, cracked his knuckle, and was bleeding heavily from his head. Yun, had a fractured spinal cord (when my parents got home, we were to take him and Feng to the hospital; especially Yun), he had snapped his wrists, ripped his hamstring, his temple was slightly swollen, and had broken four of his ribs. My hamstring was completely and brutally destroyed, my wrist had snapped, and I had a bruise on my chest; though my injuries were still nothing compared to Feng and Yun. Ce, who wasn't nearly as traumatized as Yun and Feng, was sporting a black eye and pressing ice to each of his injuries (the only other majors being a bruise on his chest which Meiying had covered with medical tape as well as the bruise on his back).Yi had a few scrapes on his right forearm, his forehead was slightly swollen from where his head had collided with Yun (as was Yun's head), and his left elbow had an extremely light bruise.

"Well it's your fault for hurting Dre," Meiying replied coldly, though I saw a touch of concern in her eyes; a whole expression of apprehension and forgiveness melting through when her eyes flickered to my face (as usual, fixated on her).

"He threw sh-!" I began, but faltered slightly under Meiying's stern gaze. "Fine, he threw crap water at me!"

Meiying's expression was blank with bewilderment, then shock that her _innocent _Dre would do such a thing, before she burst out laughing.

"It was not funny!" I protested, slightly hurt. Meiying clutched her side and fought to keep a straight face.

"Was so," She argued, bringing her face close to mine, her cool, minty breath taking my own away. I gaped, before grasped the fact that she was trying to distract me (judging from her smug expression and smirk) and frowned again.

"Was not," I disagreed, crossing my arms. She pouted, her lower lip jotting out. I groaned. How could someone be so _adorable_? So _lovable_ I wanted to cry for not being able to sprint to her and caress her face, or to hold her, or to tell her how beautiful, amazing, brilliant, and flawless she was, or to gently press my lips to hers and express my feelings of love for her. Meiying knew I loved her, but she wasn't aware that I was _in love_ with _her_. How she was my morning sun, how she was what her name originated- my beautiful flower (**A/N: Thanks **_**Italianbabe**_**!)**, how I would die for her, how I would do anything for her…

"You're so adorable when you do that," I gave up, flashing a goofy grin at her. Meiying frowned, however her eyes were distant, as if she was battling inwardly about something. Remembering that night where I had whispered Dre's and my own name made me smile when I saw Meiying's expression; my heart stuttered, my breathing accelerated, and a tingling feeling spread throughout my being.

Finally Meiying sighed, and I was extremely surprised when she ruffled my hair and very, _very_ sensitively pressed her lips to my cheek- kissing my bruise.

"Don't push your luck, I'm still mad about what you did with Dre," She murmured. Shocked, I still had my index and middle finger on my cheek, rubbing the spot where her lips had been previously. I had been defeated today, but however, I had beaten Dre to a pulp, Meiying wasn't _that_ mad at me (only due to the fact we all learned our lesson), _and she_ had kissed _me_ (even if only on the cheek); best day ever.

"Okay, your turn bully-boy," Meiying used her old nickname for me as she kneeled down by me. "How badly are you hurt?"

I explained all of my injuries to Meiying, who winced and tried to remain impassive though I saw how concerned she was.

"Oh, Cheng," Meiying whispered before tenderly hugging me. Taken aback, I hugged her back, gently wrapping my arms around her back, truly seeing how small and delicate she was, before she pulled back and I eyed her with a perplexed expression. My hands, body, and arms were still searing and delighted from her touch.

"My injuries are not as bad as Feng and Yun," I pointed out weakly, feeling slightly nauseas, my vision being painted with black spots; also reluctantly as I enjoyed Meiying's slender arms around me.

"Feng and Yun aren't my _best_ friend," Meiying retorted gently, indicating that I was, once again, her best friend; and that Feng and Yun were her friends, but not nearly as close as me. An enchanting, charming grin brightened up her features when she gazed into my overjoyed face. She blushed when I whispered, "Kěài de nǚhái [Adorable girl]."

"I think there's more than that," I said, trying not to smirk.

"No there isn't!" Meiying protested with a slight and leisurely deepening blush. "You just have a swollen ego!"

"You don't find yourself attracted to me?" I grinned.

"No," Meiying replied, trying to hide her blush and not meeting my eyes. I had a feeling she was lying. Feng wolf-whistled, and simultaneously, we both rolled our eyes.

In an affectionate, gentle grasp Meiying began wrapping medical tape around my wrist, straightening it to give support to it, before doing the same to my lower thigh and upper calve (where the hamstring was located). Then, making sure none of my highly perverted friends was watching, she softly pressed her lips to my bruise again before pulling back and flashing an alluring but timid smile at me. I grinned back, dazed. However we stopped smiling when Yi looked up and started staring at us.

"Why is he such a pervert?" Meiying muttered. I shrugged before flinching from the pain.

"Only god can aid us," I replied and Meiying giggled, actually _giggled_; a heartfelt, warm, _joyous_ sound from her since we had arrived at my house.

With a slight blush, Meiying softly pulled my polo (that I had put on after I took a shower) over my head and laid it next to us; to examine my bruise of course. I heard Meiying's sharp intake of breath as her eyes roamed my body. Now it was my turn to blush. Her hazel, timid and full of awkwardness, eyes traced over the muscles on my chest, my abdomen where I had managed to gain a six-pack, and my biceps and all other muscles on my arms. Feng wolf-whistled, attracting Meiying back to reality.

"Sorry," She muttered, heavily blushing as she softly probed my bruise, causing me to wince.

"Not a problem, how were you supposed to know I was… muscular?" I said awkwardly. "Besides, Kung Fu is more than self-defense and a ticket to popularity; it's also a guide to getting… buff?"

Meiying laughed.

"Apparently so," She murmured as she softly rubbed the same mint-green ointment on my bruise, though it didn't sting as much since it wasn't a flesh wound. I watched in awe as her slender, delicate fingers softly and swiftly worked, agilely, knowing how and where to apply First Aid. Finally, she stood up and wrapped the pallid, medical tape around my chest. Then she did something I wouldn't expect, she let her fingers trail along the crevices of my muscles, explore my abdomen, and caress my face. She softly kissed the bruise on my cheek again before softly pressing ice against the bruise on my chest.

"You know, I can do that," I offered, feeling guilty as though it was a burden for her to do this, still dazed. I could still feel the soft flesh of her fingers dancing across my muscles and my face… searing, warm… and so comforting and perfect… so… _loving. _How could she not feel _anything _but a strong friendship, closer than siblings, and have a huge crush and almost love Dre when she barely knew him? When he barely knew her? When they shared the same feelings for each other, not the burning, passionate love for her that I had, where I'd do anything for her…

She stood up, walked around and sat on the bed, directly to my left, rested her head on my shoulder, and still gripped the ice against my chest.

"I know," She smiled as I awkwardly put my arm around her shoulders.

"Don't get too dirty now, we have class in an hour," Yi teased before Meiying and I both threw pillows at his face.

"Qiánwǎng tiào xià xuányá [Go jump off a cliff]!" We bellowed in unison.

"This is going to hurt," I whined, slightly fearful of going to Kung Fu.

"I'll be waiting for you," Meiying said, leaning against the porch, flashing me a small, timid smile.

"Now he really doesn't want to go," Feng grinned as he clambered out of my father's Mercedes with three stitches on his head, pallid medical tape around his knuckles, and had a strange, steel structure on the side of his head that apparently supported his jaw.

"Do too," I full-heartedly lied in a grumble. Meiying and Feng laughed at me and I pouted. Suddenly the same, battling expression took place on Meiying's face.

"No fair, Feng get's to go back to Kung Fu in a week, I have to wait for three," Yun complained as he hobbled out of my father's car, his wrist and the back of his knee wrapped in medical tape, a strange steel structure on his back to support his spinal cord, and ice taped to his temple. I noticed he was leaning on a crutch for support and cringed, vowing revenge upon Dre or _The _Maintenance Man.

"You'll need the rest," Meiying said in a concerned tone. Yun and I both whirled to face Meiying, shocked. _Meiying_ anxious about _Yun_? I was mystified.

"Um, yeah, we'll see you guys when you get back from Kung Fu," Yun replied, shooting Feng a puzzled look which Feng returned with a shrug and a worried glance towards Meiying.

"Me thinks the girl's lost it," Ce hissed in my ear and I rolled my eyes.

"She's turning into a more caring, well she always was, but for the rest of us, person, what's wrong with that?" Liang, who had heard, retorted as I nodded fervently. Before, Meiying had only cared about me, Liang, and Ce. Now, apparently, she was beginning to like Yi, Yun, and Feng. How strange; what was going on here?

"Master Li will be pissed off if we're late, let's go," Yi urged, before being smacked on the back of the head by Meiying for swearing.

"Don't swear in front of Ce," Meiying growled, pulling Ce close and hugging him as though he were her little brother. Ce was bewildered though he willingly wrapped his arms around her back, his head barely clearing her nose.

"We're going to be late," I began in a warning tone from inside the car. Ce, Liang, and Yi leapt in, and just as I was about to close the door, Meiying popped in, kissed my bruise again, and muttered, "I'll be waiting for you."

"I'll be there," I promised, before shutting the door as my father whisked away. I was incredibly puzzled; what brought on all this affection for Meying's best friend and all of his best friends?

"What are you doing?" Yi demanded as I gawked at Meiying.

"What?" I responded, staring at Meiying who was smiling coyly and waving.

"Why are you staring?" Yi continued as Meiying turned around and started towards the house. Feeling a little awkward, I watched her flounce gracefully inside just as my father turned sharply around the corner.

"I'm-I'm just looking at the view," I tried to come up with an excuse lamely.

"Err, yeah, the view of her _ass_?" Yi snorted. Liang and Yi roared with laughter at the expression on my face; however, Ce looked puzzled. I blushed deeply and lowered my gaze.

"Meiying has a donkey!" Ce cried, lowering the window and shoving us out of the way to stick his head out of it. I had forgotten; Ce had a 'thing' for donkeys for some reason.

"NO! Bring the window up so I can explain," I roared. Ce obliged immediately.

"Okay, so what's the other meaning for ass?" Ce demanded. We all glanced at each other uncomfortably.

"Liang will explain," I answered quickly.

"What! Why me?" Liang complained as I shrugged. He sighed deeply.

"Ass is another word for… um… her _behind_," Liang answered, looking thoroughly uncomfortable, his eyes shifting around. I sighed, leave it to Liang to find a clean explanation for something as grotesque as _ass_.

"Oh… Cheng you pervert!" Ce accused, and Yi and Liang roared with laughter.

"No! Yi made it up! Yi if you don't tell him I'll break you!" I growled threateningly.

"Fine, fine… I was joking… but he did look at her ass for a second after I said it," Yi grinned. I gaped at him wordlessly.

"Yi, only you could notice something that everyone could fail to notice… you pervert," Liang sighed. Yi grumbled and sulked, upset that now everyone was upset at him instead of me.

The rest of the trip was silent as I stared out the window, watching the sun set and the orphan-cerulean sky turn a pale sapphire. The glare of the sun reflecting off of lakes we passed disappeared, and now the shiny lake top was all that was reflected; the moon hadn't risen yet.

* * *

"Xiànzài nǐ yǒu Sān wèi shì wánchéng duì'jiǎng yīngyǔ qiāng tuō'nǐ kěyǐ kàn dào, wǒmen zài zhèlǐ [Now that you three are done talking about asses in English, you'll notice we're here]," My father teased us. Yi laughed but Liang, Ce, and I looked down in humiliation.

"Yì, yǒushí wǒ bù zhīdào nǐ zhīdào shénme shì róngyù [Yi, sometimes I wonder if you know what honor is]," My father sighed as I opened the driver door to give him a fleeting hug.

"Zàijiàn Pops [Bye Pops]!" I called over my shoulder as I sprinted towards my friends.

"Zàijiàn Chéng; tíngzhǐ shǐyòng měiguó lǐyǔ [Bye Cheng, stop using American slang]!" My father bellowed at me. I threw an innocent grin at him though I winked at my friends most of which who laughed, but Liang rolled his eyes.

"I'm… nervous," I admitted as we approached the doors of the Advanced Class.

"Master Li won't get mad at us for being beat by someone who's as skilled if not more skilled than him," Ce piped up.

"Don't tell him about the skill level, just say that he's _almost_ as good as Master Li… even though that Maintenance Man could probably kick Li's ass," Liang said quietly. I gaped at him; shocked. Glancing at my other friends, I saw they were just as shocked as I was.

"What? Let's go in," Liang responded, turning his head back to face us. He ran a hand through his quiff absentmindedly.

"_You _said _ass_," I said incredulously.

"So?"

Yi, Ce, and I exchanged a glance.

"_Liang__ Zhuge _said ass," I said forcefully. Liang shrugged.

"I'm tired of being the goody-two-shoes of the group," Liang responded nonchalantly; however, he slipped, his voice cracked.

"_What _happened?" I demanded, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to meet my eyes. His brunette ones were thoroughly shaken, and agonizing pain filled them; the pain I felt everyday when Dre and Meiying were together.

"Yue… broke up with me," He choked. I immediately pulled my best friend (well, one of them) into a hug. This was really awkward, since we were both guys, and usually girls did this to comfort their friends. That still didn't disguise my pain for Liang.

"_Why_?" I asked softly. They were in _love_. Well, I _thought _they were in love. Apparently it was only Liang. Yi looked uncomfortable, as if he wanted to help soothe Liang, at the same time, as if he couldn't handle it without insulting or threatening to break Yue, which would probably just make Liang more upset.

"She doesn't want to date a goody-two-shoes, she wants someone loose, and cool… and funny… like Cheng. She likes smart guys, but not someone like me."

I growled.

"If that piece of _crap _thinks I'll take her because of her _slutty _clothes and make-up _right after _she hurt one of my best friends, I'll kick her ass. And no way in _hell _would I give up on Meiying, even when she gets together with someone, or that I would get together with anyone _other _than Meiying, she's _retarded_. My heart belongs to Meiying, and only Meiying. If I can't have her, than I'd rather be single all my life," I snarled.

"Thanks," Liang muttered, pulling away uneasily from the hug.

"Wow, if it wasn't for the swearing, that would actually be kind of poetic Cheng," Yi stated, astonished.

"_Cheng_ and _poetic _in the same sentence? _Without _the word _not _in it? Hell has officially frozen over," Ce declared. I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully.

"Gee, thanks 'Little Conqueror'," I teased. Ce was named after Sun Ce, the great warlord, and my great-great-great…. a really distant relative of mine.

"And don't push your luck, midget, just 'cause I'm upset about Liang and softened up because Meiying wouldn't want me to hurt you doesn't mean I'm not afraid to break you," I warned ominously. Ce shut up.

"Why don't we just go in?" Yi suggested, all but shoving us in.

"Nǐ wèishéme chídào le? Wèishéme nǐ yǒu shānghén? Nǎlǐ fēng yún [Why are you late? Why do you have bruises? Where are Feng and Yun]?" Master Li demanded. His voice, more bloodthirsty than it usually was sent chills up my spine. Abruptly, he roughly brushed my bruise, as if he was trying to scrape it off my face. I realized he meant this as an affectionate gesture, but I didn't think Master Li had enough of a heart to feel affection towards anything but killing or violence, himself, and money. I ignored the searing trail from my bruise to my jaw, and the agonizing pain(it wasn't the tingling, warm sensation I got from Meiying, it was more as if someone had mixed sewage and fire and smeared it across my face) as I winced slightly and answered.

"Wǒmen chídào le, yīnwèi wǒmen yǒu yīgè móhé wèi. Wǒ bèi tiāoxuǎn shàng de'dōngxi'wǒ gàosu nǐ yǒuguān, zhǔxí xiānshēng, měiguó, xiàng nǐ shuō de, wánquán méiyǒu liánmǐn wǒ de dírén, dāng zhège rén... Dǐdá. Tā zhēn de dǎbài wǒmen, tā yǒu kě pà de gōngfu, tā jīhū hé nǐ xiānshēng hǎo! Wúlùn rúhé, tā jíbài fēng yún tèbié yánzhòng [We are late because we had a bit of a run-in. I was picking on that 'thing' I told you about, sir, the American, like you said, showing no mercy to my enemy, when this man... arrived. He really defeated us, his had monstrous Kung Fu, it was nearly as good as yours sir! Anyway, he beat Feng and Yun particularly badly]…" I finished lamely; wincing as Master Li snarled at my statement about Mr. Han's strength. He brushed his 'Bruce Lee cut' hair out of his eyes, his cold, onyx eyes boring into mine menacingly.

The rest of the Advanced Class with ebony and pallid uniforms stared at us with utmost inquisitiveness, though they knew better than to ask; not very many people like black eyes and bruises.

"Zhè jiāng díquè shì yǒuqù, yǐ mǎnzú zhège rén... Āiyā, tài zāogāo le... Fēng yún dōu yīnggāi jīng shí jīntiān [It would indeed, be, interesting to meet this man... Ah, too bad... Feng and Yun were supposed to spar today]…" Master Li said cruelly, shrugging casually as if we were discussing the weather. For once, I knew what Meiying meant about his cruelty, and I had to resist the urge to tackle him. My heart warmed momentarily thinking of Meiying and how she said she'd be waiting for me. I brushed that off and focused on my rage for my brutal, uncaring teacher; how _dare _he speak of Feng and Yun's grave injuries as though they were a casual topic we spoke of everyday?

"I'm going to stab him in his fu-!" I growled, starting towards him menacingly but Liang threw out a hand to stop me.

"That's a bad idea; you know he can kick your ass and it'll just hurt you, us, and especially Meiying," Liang warned and I sighed. He was right… as always.

"If he ends up dead on the floor you know what happened," I snarled as I followed him up the steps to our spots. Liang chuckled whilst Ce and Yi who hadn't heard the rest of the conversation looked at him bemusedly.

* * *

"Chéng, wǒ xiǎng ràng nǐ zhīdào wǒ wèi nǐ gǎndào jiāoào [Cheng, I want to let you know I'm proud of you]," Master Li said abruptly after warm-ups.

"Xiānshēng [Sir]?" I inquired in a questioning tone that matched my expression. Where was he going with this? I had just been defeated and he was proud? Hmm, apparently there _would _be an apocalypse in two-thousand-twelve if Master Li was actually _proud _of me fighting back even though I had been defeated. Alas, I was wrong (well, actually that was a good thing I guess; no apocalypse), he was only proud for the reason that made me who I was and was the core of my existence.

"Yīnwèi nǐ bù dài de cāngbái, guò wéixiào, guàiyì de nǚhái zài zhèlǐ... ... Tā shì nàme mòshēng, wǒ hěn gāoxìng nǐ bù dài tā lái fēnxiǎng wǒmen de mìmì le... Tā xūyào zhīfù gōngfu mìmì [Because you stopped bringing that pale, over-smiling, freaky girl here… she was so strange… I'm glad you don't bring her here to share our secrets anymore… she needs to _pay _for Kung Fu secrets]," Master Li sneered in response. I gaped wordlessly at him; he was calling Meiying's beautiful, olive-toned, moon skin pale? Her joyous personality and charming smile, over-smiling? He was calling _Meiying _freaky over his bloodthirsty, morbidly ugly appearance, and most-hated-man-in-Beijing-self?

I opened my mouth to bellow and charged about two inches before Yi clamped his hand over my mouth and Ce and Liang prevented me from tackling him. I was extremely thankful Master Li wasn't facing us as we struggled; he would have jumped to the conclusion that my friends were gay and they were trying to rape me.

"Don't. Remember what I told you before," Liang hissed in a hushed tone before letting me go. I sighed; he was right… again. My friends cautiously let go of me as I tried to steady my breathing and failed.

"Zhǔxí xiānshēng, tā de yī _Yǔ_, wǒ huì zūnzhòng dì duìdài tā [Sir, she's a _Yu_; I'd treat her with respect]," I growled in a aggressive tone, than added, under my breath, "Bùrán wǒ huì shā le nǐ zài nǐ de shuìmián [Or I'll murder you in your sleep]."

Liang, Yi, and Ce all stifled their laughter as Master Li ignored or was oblivious (as such an obvious tone of my voice to add to my statement was too much to pass through his thick skull) to hear the threat behind my words.

"Ń, wǒ kàn dào... Zhè jiāng shì wǒmen de guāngróng dàochǎng yǒuyī yú fǎngwèn, ér bùshì yīgè tàiyáng shì bùgòu de, érqiě kěyǐ ràng tā zàicì dāng nǐ kěyǐ... [Hmm, I see... It would be honorable for our dojo to have a Yu visit, not that a Sun isn't enough, but bring her again when you can...]," Master Li mused, half-talking to himself. I rolled my eyes; was this man so selfish, greedy, and self-absorbed that he wouldn't apologize for his statement but only think of the welfare of his business?

"What a dou-!" Yi snarled this time, again under his breath.

"Now I know what Meiying was talking about," Ce whispered.

"Idiot," Liang growled unusually (for him) assertively tone in a hushed tone.

"Jīntiān, wǒ xiǎng... Cè hé Liáng Liǎng duì [Today, I want… Ce and Liang to spar]," Master Li continued. Ce and Liang both exchanged apologetic looks in case of any drastic damage to each other delivered by the other.

"Kāishǐ [Begin]!"

Ce and Liang bowed to Master Li, than each other, subsequently each falling into a loose fighting stance, though alert and aware of each other's movements. I felt as though a heavy weight had been placed on my heart; I shot a sideways glance at Yi and saw he had the same expression. We were both worried about the emotional damage that would occur between our friends from traumatizing events such as hurting each other.

Ce aimed two pointless kicks at Liang, which he blocked easily, grabbed Ce, and continuously kneed him, once in his torso, once in the stomach, once in the…

Cringing away from Liang, Ce hissed in pain, but Liang wasn't done, and I noticed an expression of utter regret and emotional pain shoot across his face as he hurled Ce over his shoulder. But you had to give the kid credit, he _was_ the third best; he clutched Liang's uniform top and hurled him behind him. However, Liang still had an iron-grip on Ce's uniform and hurled him back, hard on his spinal cord.

The little kid leapt up, but he was sweating heavily and his face was filled with agony. Liang shook his hands twice swiftly, probably to dispose of the shock and vibrations running up his veins, but his face clearly stated that he was attempting to rid his hands of the sin.

This time it was Ce's turn to fight dirty, he blocked Liang's kick and punch and twisted his arm, tripping him whilst doing it, hurtling him to the floor. With a staggering, choking noise Liang fell onto the platform with a sickening crack; his arms flailing in a useless attempt to guard himself. Yi, Ce, and I winced as Liang flinched and writhed in agony. Briskly taking his chance, Ce ran forward and clutched the back of Liang's uniform, raising his tightly clenched fist threateningly.

We all knew that none of us could bear to hit each other, especially Liang (due to his gentle, kindness) and Ce (due to his innocence and younger age), so it wasn't much of a surprise when a single tear, easily disguised as a drop of sweat, slid off of Ce's face and landed onto Liang's back.

Master Li's cruel face was twisted into a smile of anticipation, almost relishing watching his second-best student in pain, no probably _savoring _it; it changed into a look of disappointment when Ce did nothing.

"Shénme? Nǐ wèishéme tíng xiàlái? [What? Why did you stop]?" Master Li demanded in a low snarl. Ce looked up, his face drenched with sweat and hesitation; not the answer Master Li was looking for.

"Wánchéng le tā [Finish him]!" Master Li commanded. Taking a deep breath, Ce raised his arms, and twisted them down, bringing his elbows down hard on Liang's shoulder blade and the back of his head. Ce's yell mixed in with Liang's sound of anguish nearly made me miss the creaking.

My head jerked up and I automatically located the sound. The Maintenance Man and Dre stepped in, Mr. Han looking mortified at Master Li's command and at Ce and Liang's anguish filled faces. Dre just simply seemed mortified to be here, not to mention hesitant; as he stared at me, he licked his lips and bit his lower lip in worry, cowering slightly behind Mr. Han. I tried not to smirk and failed; a full-blown grin broke out before I remembered the matter at hand and I allowed my face to become somber.

"'Kay, Mr. Han, let's get out of here," Dre muttered tensely, tugging on Mr. Han's navy jacket. Mr. Han ignored him, and watched with the same expression of mortification.

"Lái dào zhèlǐ [Come here]," Master Li demanded, pointing to the spot on the grimy platform directly in front of him. With his head hung in shame and fear, Ce sulked towards Master Li. I forgot that Ce had no idea what happened in the Advanced Class when you displeased your master; in the Basic Class… well, you were usually just forced to sit in a corner, with your head shoved against the wall. Here… the mildest punishment was being hurtled to the floor with a slap; courtesy of Master Li.

Even though we were used to seeing people slapped, Ce clutching his face, the nauseating crack he made on the floor when he landed, the groan, and seeing this happening to our best friend still made Yi, Liang, and I wince. Mr. Han's expression only deepened, however, he refrained from making contact; I suspected he wanted to wait until it was absolutely necessary.

"Zhōu [Stand]!" Master Li ordered. We all shot up instantly and simultaneously; hands interlocked behind our back. I barely heard Master Li's words (though occasionally words such as "Dishonorable"… "Pathetic"… "Liang"… "Ce"… "Pity"… "Enemies" from his unbearable speech) as I stared curiously at Mr. Han and Dre, wondering why they would be here…

With a small glimmer of hope, I prayed Master Li would hurt Dre and Mr. Han would get upset and destroy Master Li in a fight; I would win both ways, revenge on Dre, and Master Li gets his ass kicked. It was as if Mr. Han had heard the last bit of my thoughts about Master Li as his head jerked up and his eyes bored into mine for a second before his face split into a momentary smile and he winked. Unexpectedly his face became somber again.

I didn't notice the heavy breathing and the rotten smell of stale sweat in front of me until Master Li barked, "Nǐ zài kàn shénme [What are you staring at]?"

I nudged my head in Mr. Han's general direction, using my chin to indicate him.

"Tā shì yīgè shuí gōngjí wǒ [He's the one who attacked me]," I muttered, avoiding Mr. Han's piercing gaze as he watched me rat him out. Nearly everyone in the class turned to glance at Mr. Han, sizing him up to our gang; everyone was shocked that I, Cheng, the best student of 'The Fighting Dragon' dojo, was defeated by a maintenance man.

"Wǒmen lái zhèlǐ shǐ wèile hépíng [We are here to make peace]," Mr. Han spoke up, trudging forward with Dre in edgy tow. Master Li suddenly let out a bloodcurdling cackle, as if something greatly amused him.

"Ràng nǐ de xiǎo dōngxi zìshēng zì miè [Let your little 'thing' fend for itself]," He sneered. Mr. Han had his jaw clenched, and took him some apparent effort to maintain a straight face and set his jaw.

"Yī duì yī, hěn jiǎndān [One on one, simple enough]…" Mr. Han began steadily, choosing his words carefully. "... Liù zhì yī, tài duō de rén [Six to one, too much for anyone]."

I snorted, _yeah, except for you_. My friends seemed to be thinking along the same lines because they all snorted as well. Mr. Han shot me an apologetic look before returning his attention to Master Li. A cruel, evil, lip-curled smile was on Master Li's face, as if he was, yet again, greatly amused and prepared to pull a hilarious stunt.

"Hǎo jí le... Zhǔnbèi zhàndòu [Very well… Prepare for battle]!" Master Li barked. Everyone dropped simultaneously as I shot up with a smirk on my face; this was my chance to prove things, and to be able to hurt Dre publicly. However, Meiying's words rang in my head… I wouldn't hurt him drastically, just enough to please Master Li than let him go; as much as I hated the little 'thing', I loved Meiying more, and I only hated him because of his feelings for her… and her feelings for him. I gritted my teeth.

"Whoa, Mr. Han, does he want us to fight?" Dre demanded in a squeaky, nervous voice, not in his usual funny accent or his calm and his wannabe-cool-voice. Mr. Han looked at me, then at Dre, as if sizing us up, before recalling something.

Master Li on the other hand, seemed pleased, as though Dre's voice was exactly how he pictured the little 'thing'.

"Wǒmen bùshì zài zhèlǐ dǎ [We are not here to fight]," Mr. Han responded coolly, turning to leave as he shook his head in disbelief. Master Li's lip curled upwards; he was displeased; he always got his way.

"Děngdài [Wait]!" Master Li called, leaping off the platform and jogging towards Mr. Han and Dre's departing figures. He caught up to them and walked at a brisk pace next to them before throwing his arm out; squarely hitting Mr. Han in the chest, attempting to prevent him from leaving. The ancient Maintenance Man seemed unharmed as he bored his sable eyes into Master Li's onyx, empty, cruel, and cold eyes.

"Nǐ lái zhèlǐ, nǐ gōngjí wǒ de xuéshēng, nǐ bù zūnzhòng wǒ de gōngzuò shì... [You come here, attack my students, disrespect my studio]," Master Li snarled, as if he was counting off Mr. Han's sins, gradually leaning in closer and closer to Mr. Han's face with every accusation.

"Tīng [Listen]-," Mr. Han began with a polite smile but Master Li grabbed his wrist tightly. Mr. Han's wrist immediately flew to Dre's and clutched it in a tight grip. Dre looked up concerned and apprehensively, both for Mr. Han and himself as he winced in pain from Mr. Han's grip. The Maintenance Man didn't notice.

"Nǐmen dōu lái zhèlǐ... Nǐ yīgè rén dǎ [Both of you came here… one of you has to fight]," Master Li declared in a hiss. Mr. Han could obviously beat every person in the dojo with ease; even if they attacked him all at once, but he was still compassionate and kind… and apparently a pacifist. His eyes searched frantically, for an excuse not to fight… at least not now. Finally, his eyes settled on the 'Open-Kung-Fu-Tournament' and he relaxed.

"Zhège nánhái huì zhēngqǔ yǒu [The boy will fight there]," Mr. Han stated, jerking his head towards the carroty poster. Master Li slowly turned his head to glance at the poster. Once realization had passed through his thick skull he laughed again, amused. He released his grip on Mr. Han and Mr. Han did on Dre. Clutching his wrist and rubbing it lightly, Dre mouthed the word, _Ow_, before going back to the conversation. Obviously he couldn't understand anything, but he probably couldn't look away from the tense atmosphere and the suspense of the argument.

"Jiéshù [Fine]," Master Li spat, returning to the platform.

"Děngdài! Wǒ hái yāoqiú nǐ de xuéshēng gěi xiǎo nánhái dúzì xùnliàn [Wait! I also request that your students leave the boy alone to train]," Mr. Han called. Master Li shrugged, though his face was bitter.

"Zhùyì! Wǒ xīwàng nǐmen suǒyǒu rén líkāi zhège xiǎo'dōngxi'dúzì lièchē! Lǐjiě [Attention! I want all of you to leave this little 'thing' alone to train! Understood?]?" Master Li bellowed.

"Shì de, xiānshēng [Yes, sir]!" We chanted back at him from our crossed legged position, Ce and Yi both smirking at each other. Liang and I were both a little reproachful though, I was reproachful because I didn't want to hurt Meiying by hurting Dre, and Liang was a pacifist; he only fought and learned Kung Fu because his parents (wealthy and his father a Kung Fu legend himself) wanted him to learn the sacred, Chinese arts.

Mr. Han and Dre turned once more, to depart, but Master Li barked out another answer. I groaned; for the first time in my life I wanted to go home early from Kung Fu, and Master Li was only delaying that.

"Děngdài! Rúguǒ hěn xiǎo de shìqíng'bù biǎoshì duì bǐsài, wǒ huì dài dìyù duì tā hé nǐ [Wait! If the little 'thing' doesn't show up for the tournament, I'll bring hell to both him and you]," Master Li called after Dre and Mr. Han. The elderly maintenance man hesitated a moment before following Dre out.

"Chèng, Xiè, zhàndòu xiànzài [Cheng, Xie, battle now]!" Master Li growled before taking his seat, a smirk on his face. I obviously won, but my mind wasn't in the fight as I bowed and easily defeated my opponent; my mind was far away, back at the Sun Manor where Meiying was waiting for me… and how I would tell her the bad news…

**

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A/N: Hey guys, I'm REALLY sorry for the HUGE wait, I was really busy and I needed to view the scenes again (thanks **_**Sick Twisted Mind**_**!) at "The Fighting Dragon" dojo… Anyway, what did you think? NO Meiying doesn't love or feel anything **_**that **_**strong for Cheng, however, it isn't a brother-sister bond between her and Cheng anymore (well, it never was for Cheng), it's more of a best friend bond (meaning a relationship that can go either way; romantic or brother-sister). Please review! (I'm sorry **_**Sick Twisted Mind **_**I said I would upload before midnight by Western Standard Time, but I'm twenty minutes off, sorry again.)**

**Always Grateful,**

**-John**

**P.S. No random, picture-less comic strip this time, I'm out of ideas :P**

**P.S.S. Can all of you PLEASE review if you've read the new chapter? It doesn't have to a be a good review, even "Hi" will do or "Please Update" or something like that, I just want to know that everyone read the latest chapter before I update a new one.**

**P.S.S.S. I've been meaning to put this in all of my other messages, but I keep forgetting; can all of you who like/love my to-be trilogy vote in the poll on my profile? I'd like to have the maximum amount of votes by the time I write The Karate Kid III. I'm a Cheng supporter, in case it's taken you this long to notice *hint hint* (so you all know my vote, but it only counts as one anyway).  
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	8. A Surprise Birthday No, More Like

**A/N: Thank you guys SO much for the reviews, it really warmed my heart and made my day (I was having a bad day and also pissed off since I made a fool of myself at Taekwondo). I'm touched that many of you support Cheng, and I'm still pleased that the Dre supporters voted; as much as I want Cheng and Meiying together, I wouldn't want little Dre left behind! **_**ItalianBabe**_** you've already said you're a Dre/Meiying a.k.a. Dreying (Chenying sounds better though) fan so I understand your logic; I just hope you meant Meiying not 'for Cheng' or that you meant 'over' instead of 'for' Cheng... Anyway, **_**Sick Twisted Mind **_**I **_**really **_**hope that your additional comment on your last review that you **_**are**_** a girl (not that I'm against gays or anything, but I **_**think **_**Zhenwei/Cheng might be). And yes, Ce is awesome isn't he? I don't want to spoil the surprise, but this chapter is dedicated to your question **_**Sick Twisted**_**; it'll kind of give away what age he was before this. Yes, **_**ItalianBabe**_**, I do like chocolate chip (my favorite will always be triple-chocolate with peanuts and caramel chips, courtesy of my grandmother, though) but you don't have to deplete your stock of cookies for me :)

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Chapter Seven

A Surprise Birthday- No, More Like Just a Surprise

The ride home was silent and Liang had finally managed to convince Ce that he 'forgave' him (he was never irate or disconcert with Ce) and that he was fine. Everyone looked away from each other, as if our close bond would make it as if we stared at each other that we would be able to share our thoughts- and currently, our thoughts were all along the lines of _**confidential**_.

Mine were along the line of Meiying… I knew she would never _like _or love me so soon, or maybe… ever _like_- don't even_ finish _that sentence, I scolded myself. But… there was a change in her, the way she was battling inwardly (as much as I could foretell from her expression) whenever I did something charming or attractive, the way she made physical contact more often, and the way she occasionally blushed or spoke to me in a soft, timid tone…

I pondered on a subject that had been bothering me for the past few days- what _would _I do if Meiying picked Dre over me? What _would _I do if she left with him one day? What _would _I do if I one day approved of him? Okay, that wasn't going to happen, but the other two…

This time, I could find no safe refuge as I wasn't anywhere near Meiying and my friend's faces were excruciatingly strained with worry to be comforting- Liang, because of the loss of his girlfriend, Ce, because of the girl he _liked_ (I _think _her name was Erica, however, she wasn't Chinese; I _think _she was Korean) was about a year older than him (not after tomorrow) and possibly didn't return his feelings (which in my opinion, was a load of baloney; every girl in the elementary school _adored _Ce, I was sure that some of the girls in sixth grade _liked _him too), and Yi, because his status was unknown at school outside of my gang. In my opinion, Liang and Ce's reasons were the most painful and valid; Yi… honestly, I would trade my life with Yi's at any moment- being popular, good-looking, and wealthy was nothing if you couldn't have the girl you loved… However, my opinions aside, I decided to try and concentrate on Yi's problem.

I was well known at school for being the leader of the most mortifying gang at Beijing Junior High School, as well as my looks and in my opinion, only _slightly _muscular figure (which I didn't really see; Meiying stressed this a lot even though she said she'd _never _return my feelings for her); my gang was mortifying due to their Kung Fu, so it didn't count as a mark of my popularity level for doing Kung Fu. Feng was known for his extreme skill at basketball, and he was also the star player of the school basketball team (the Beijing High team); not to mention his looks and his muscular build- which usually attracted many flittering, hormone-driven girls who usually ended up at the school nurse's office or the hospital once Shangxiang was through with them (though thinking about Shangxiang reminded me of Yue, I kept my thoughts from straying to that… demon). Liang was known for his appearance, slightly muscular though mostly lanky figure, and his intelligence. Ce was known for his looks, his skills at the electric guitar, and his ability to get away with anything with the teachers. Yun was known for his comedic skills, ludicrous pranks (it was worth getting in trouble for skipping school on the last day just to see the-end-of-the-year pranks he devised as well as the miraculous, vivid fireworks; I mean, I even got Meiying to come with me! Is that even possible? A _Yu _ditching school? Especially _Meiying Jinee Yu_?) innuendos; not to mention he was outrageously popular for no reason.

Yi lived in the shadow of his brother and our gang; he wasn't _that _funny, not very handsome (many guys tried to convince Da to leave him though she refused; she loved him unlike Liang and his ex-girlfriend…), not skilled at any instrument, not a basketball player, not very intelligent, and definitely not lucky with the teachers. I felt pity towards Yi, but I could only think of the hell training session coming to me this weekend and how Meiying already had a crush on Dre and could possibly be in love with him…

"Why so serious?" My father grunted gruffly; with great difficulty as he couldn't speak English very well. I rolled my eyes at the quote.

"'The Joker' isn't that funny dad," I commented in a strained voice with a forced smile. I didn't ever tell my father to be quiet or complain about his favorite line from the American movie, _The Dark Knight_; I didn't have the heart to crush his spirits, though I couldn't say the same about my agitated mother (as she particularly _loathed _'The Joker').

"Hǎo de, píqì bàozào. Wǒmen jīhū méiyǒu [Fine, grumpy. We're almost there]," My father grumbled, gesturing with his chin. Gazing up from my tightly crossed limbs and steadily deepening scowl; I perceived that the lights of the manor come into view.

"I _need_ to see _her_," I groaned as the longing in my heart only worsened and caused me actual _pain _(not to mention a slightly nauseas feeling).

Yi, who was still in a dour mood from his bitter thoughts glared at me.

"Are you _doing_ _it _with her or something? Suck it up and be a man!" Yi barked, before realizing what he said; his face broke into a mischievous grin I didn't want to see. "…'That's what shesaid'!"  
I groaned noisily; did what he say _have _to be _that _repulsive?

"You know, that sound only made his statement sound wilder," Liang interjected quietly. I glowered at him and he lowered his gaze and became silent immediately. Ce, who had no idea what we were going on about, looked bemusedly between us before complaining.

"You're going to see her in two- you're going to see her now if you look up, dunderhead **(A/N: That's actually a word in the Microsoft Word Dictionary)**," Ce piped up in an irritable tone; evidently displeased with my horrid mood.

More animation flooding my body than it could hold, I glanced up eagerly to sweet, immediate relief. Her sweet, glittering smile brightened up every feature of her flawless face as her pale, olive-toned **(A/N: I can't stress enough that enough as I notice it in every Asian person and **_**really **_**try not to be racist as I'm in **_**love**_** with an Asian person) skin **made her look breathtaking under the moonlight. I moaned; it took every ounce of self-control to not roll up into a ball and cry for not being able to run and scoop up Meiying in my arms.

"Hai!" Meiying sang in English, again with her adorable Chinese accent.

"Meiyi!" I bellowed, dashing to her. I wrenched her into a gentle but an embrace that displayed all the emotions I felt when I was away from her. Evidently I caught her off guard when I buried my face in her hair and wrapped my arms around her little body when she shot up slightly; she still returned the embrace by wrapping her slender, little arms around my waist.

"Um, somebody get another award at Kung Fu?" Meiying teased, pulling away from my chest; I usually didn't display my affections for Meiying physically unless I was depressed or something magnificent had just happened (which it had- I had been reunited with Meiying!).

My face paled, whiter than the moon, at this as I recalled the events that had just occurred. Her teasing grin changed to a look of shock and concern.

She grabbed my collar and pulled me tighter. With one hand tight on my collar, she used the other to grip my chin roughly (though it tickled rather than hurt) and forced my sable eyes to meet her hazel ones, the usual sparkling gleam erased from sight. After she had my undivided attention, she cupped the right side of my face as if to show she was listening to my feelings; leaving another trail of blazing tingles as she voiced her thoughts and concerns.

"What. The. Hell. Happened?" She demanded. I ignored the electric current that passed through me and the balmy feeling that spread throughout my face when she touched me and answered her.

"Mr. Han and Dre came to our Kung Fu dojo to make peace; didn't go too well with our bloodthirsty idiot- err, Master Li," I amended as I distinguished an expression of bewilderment cross Meiying's face. "I see what you mean now, you were right. As usual."

Meiying blushed at the compliment, and I felt my heart race with giddiness at the rising crimson color in her cheeks; I could make her blush- I could sing and skip, though everyone would probably back away at a brisk rather than a dawdling pace.

"Somebody's blushing, could they possibly be attracted to the handsome and awesome Cheng Zhuang Sun?" I asked in a mocking tone. Unfortunately I let a glimmer of hope escape my voice and I saw pain shoot across Meiying's face as she answered; she didn't like hurting me.

"No, Cheng, I've already told you. Don't make me hurt you when I don't need or want to," She said quietly, about a fraction of a hundredth **(A/N: Wow, that's small)** of her voice combined with my gut feeling that she did truly love me as well, that she just didn't know it, said she was lying. Absentmindedly staring deeply into my eyes, she ruffled my hair. It was my turn to blush; I didn't look away though, it felt as if my heart was soaring when I met her hazel eyes.

"What were we talking about?" I asked in a dazed tone, feeling light headed; I shook my head to clear my thoughts but stared directly back into Meiying's sweet, gentle, hazel eyes as I answered. "Oh right, anyway Master Li tried to force them to fight, well, _attempted _to get Dre to fight me too (too bad that didn't happen, I mean…um… yeah). That didn't work either, and now Dre's fighting in the Open-Kung-Fu-Tournament, so now we have to scar him emotionally and physically in public," I finished gravely, feeling my eyes darken; grinning sheepishly when Meiying caught me saying 'too bad' out loud. Meiying's rosy face went from pale to a white that would make the moon envious.

"But… is Mr. Han going to train him or something?" Meiying demanded; her voice barely above a choked whisper; though I was deeply concerned at seeing Meiying in this state and gravely upset that I had no way out of kicking Dre's ass, I couldn't help but feel extremely covetous of Dre- too bad the idiot didn't know how lucky he was.

"I… I dunno, do I? I hope so, but he has a job that he needs to work at, the looks of him say that he doesn't have time to be saving a kid from… not being beat up," I sighed. Meiying's hazel eyes began to become glossier and glossier, and soon they resembled garnet (or onyx, possibly, as her eyes darkened and darkened from hazel to brunette to obsidian) orbs before she burst into tears. My heart swelled with grief and my head throbbed at this, and I held Meiying tighter, not knowing what else to do but run a hand through her hair _extremely _tenderly (barely touching her hair) and whisper soothing words.

"Meiying, Mr. Han is a _great_ Martial Artist, he'll teach Dre to kick our asses! Wait… that's not a good thing…" I muttered, flooding full of awareness as I realized what a brainless thing I had just said, as Meiying smiled through her tears. I had never been in a tenser situation… if I didn't murder (thankfully -and I couldn't stress _how _appreciative I was- not literally) Dre, (which would be hard, as I'd have to really, _really _mess up to not be able to hurt him) Master Li would kill me. And if I fought him harshly, Meiying would be upset and probably never speak to me again. But then again… what if Dre actually and truly beat me? I'd have an excuse to quit Master Li's school when he would try to strangle me… However, if that didn't happen (and it probably wouldn't) I knew which one I picked; Meiying was worth a million times worth of the hell Master Li would give me- I wasn't losing her over anything, especially not losing a fight to Dre. A shrill wolf-whistle broke my thoughts.

"What's with all the dirty business, people- err, I mean, _animals_?" Yun teased, hobbling out behind Feng who was still wolf-whistling.

Meiying and I rolled our eyes and stuck our tongues out at them; bad idea.

"Hey, hey, keep all that gooey stuff to yourself! We don't want 'tongue'!" Feng hollered, with a mock expression of chagrin as Yun made impressions of throwing up behind him. I rolled my eyes, and suddenly a mischievous thought formed in my head; Meiying pulled back slightly and eyed the mischievous glint in my eye with a suspicious frown.

"Hey at least people _want _to do dirty business with us!" I shot back with a grin. Meiying gaped wordlessly at me as the smiles gradually wiped off of Yun and Feng's faces and were replaced with grimaces of shock, which changed to expressions of envy as the truth sunk in on them and they turned back towards the house, grumbling.

A cold, slightly stinging sensation on my left cheek returned me made me look down; Meiying had slapped me across the face. I on the other hand, didn't really acknowledge the pain (which didn't ever occur) and Meiying scowled, clutching her aching hand.

"Cheng, _why _would you form those ideas in their head? Ugh, now who knows what they're going to do at school," Meiying groaned, burying her face in my shirt. I grinned apologetically.

"Sorry," I whispered, feeling remorseful. "But they know and value their asses enough not to do that; I'll really harass them to get them to shut up."

"It's fine; I can't stay angry at you anyway," Meiying murmured from somewhere against my shirt, the sentence slightly muffled by fabric; I shifted, slightly uncomfortable and shaken but pleased nonetheless when I felt Meiying inhaling my scent. I grinned as she pulled back and flashed an alluring, dazing smile at me.

"Thanks Cheng, even though what you said was kind of… mindless, it was still nice of 'bully-boy' to make me feel better," Meiying smiled gratefully (and very impressively) at me, stopping my heart. I gaped for a second at her beauty before shaking myself to my senses.

"Anytime, love," I grinned and Meiying shoved away from me.

"What did I say about pet-names?" Meiying demanded as we walked back towards my manor.

"What _did _you say, love?" I teased, purposefully using another pet-name to agitate Meiying and pretending as though I hadn't heard her pet-name speech at least a hundred times.

"Ugh, you're impossible," She groaned as we got closer to the house.

"And that's why you love me," I replied with a playful grin. She became silent after that statement, deep in thought, and the little glimmer of faith and hope that had kept me going for so long sang out from my heart.

"Hey, at least one good thing came from 'dirty business', you're happier," I pointed out as Meiying smiled, acknowledging this. Since she was distracted, I leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. That was the last event that occurred before Meiying had me out my back door and jumping fences to escape her wrath.

* * *

"Oh crap, wake _up_!" I hissed at Feng and Meiying who, beside me, were still passed out. I sighed in frustration- sure, I was thankful it was a Friday, a Friday that we got off from school because of the festival coming up, but that didn't mean I was going to be patient about Feng snoring.

"What? I don't want to go home now… _maaa_… Cheng's bed is more comfortable…" Feng groaned into his pillow, stretching out the word 'ma' as if he was a five-year-old pleading and annoying his mom into letting him stay at a friend's house for five more minutes.

"So you only hang out with me because I have a comfortable bed? Thanks_ so _much, Feng. No, no, it's okay- it really warms up my heart," I teased. Feng grinned.

"You know I love you, bud. Not in that way of course! I don't actually have to add that, do I? Yun and Yi are asleep," Feng responded, all very swiftly. "Wait… you have a heart?"

I growled and hurtled my pillow at Feng who snatched it out of the air with a powerful, nippy flick of his wrist.

"Only proves my point, anger-management-issues," Feng stated calmly.

"What's with the extremely long comebacks? Too worried to use one word as an insult?" I shot back and Feng rolled his eyes, throwing the pillow back at me with a goofy grin which I returned; no matter how seriously **(A/N: I almost wrote 'Siriusly' for a second, haha- you'll only get this if you're a Harry Potter fan) **we acted as though we were livid at each other, it would never be true.

Meiying yawned- she looked so adorable when she did that; it brought out the olive-toned shade of her skin and the way her nose scrunched up like either a rabbit or a chipmunk only added to the delightful, adorableness of her hazel eyes crinkling up as she yawned.

"Good to see your awake, _chipmunk_," I teased affectionately as Meiying rolled her eyes. "But then again, according to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, you're closer to rabbit over rat…"

"Gee, so glad you compared me to a rodent, Cheng. Honestly… _rat_," Meiying scoffed at me; Feng howling with laughter at my expression and apologetic spluttering all the whilst.

"Shut up! We have to get Yi, Yun, and Liang and sneak out and set up for the party before Mr. Pre-Teen wakes up!" I hissed, clamping my hand over Feng's mouth.

"Oh, right, I forgot, he's not our little elementary-schooler anymore, now, is he?" Yun said groggily as he woke up from the volume of our conversation. Yi yawned widely.

"Of course he is you idiot; he's only turning eleven, not going to middle school," Yi jeered at his brother's foolishness.

"I forgot, 'kay? He still looks little… just taller by a few inches… and his face is less round," Yun complained. Maybe it would've been better if Feng, Meiyi, Liang, and I had gone; the way things were going working with the twins, Ce was about to figure out the surprise birthday party any second now.

"Jump off a cliff, why don't you? He's going to wake up! C'mon, we have to be at 'Bruno's Bakery', 'Jia Na Ma Ni', and Hancunhe Village and back at noon to set up by two!" Liang finally hissed. He was extremely silent when he woke up; I didn't realize he was awake until now. Gesturing for my friends to follow me into the corridor, I turned and signaled a thumbs-up sign to Liang to show my thanks who responded with a wink.

When we were in the corridor, nearly everyone except for Feng and Yun, who were still brutally beaten, but had fortunately gotten a wheelchair from the doctor, leaned against the railing. I gently held Meiying's hand in a grip in which I tried to dispute all my feelings to, which was hard as I was trying to do it secretly so Yun, Yi, and Feng wouldn't see and tease Meiying (I was fine with them teasing _me_; I loved her! Why would I have to worry about being teased?).

"So you all got your presents for Ce?" I asked in a hushed tone, though notably louder than before. Feng, Yi (as Yun and he bought one present together for Ce), and Liang all held up different size packages, Feng's being the smallest and Liang's being the largest. Out of all my friends Liang was the second wealthiest (Meiying being a Yu- the richest family in Beijing, followed by the Suns and then the Zhuges) and Feng was the poorest; living in a wooden rectangle of a house. I really pitied my poor best friend (again, out of my Kung Fu friends at least) and allowed him to stay at my manor as often as he liked to, not to mention, saving huge amounts of food and room for his parents.

"Jesus Christ! What did you buy?" I inquired Liang, raising my eyebrows, eyes widening.

"Um…" Liang clutched the massive package tightly. "He always talked about wanting Kamas and a set of training equipment…"

"So you went out and bought him a whole palm-training wooden stand, a punching bag, Kamas, and leg weights?" I responded skeptically, still in awe. Liang shrugged.

"Wait, so we have to go to _Hancunhe Village_?" Meiying asked incredulously, looking at each of our faces as if one of us would say it was all a joke and we'd burst out laughing. When we didn't her face paled, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, caressing her face softly.

"That's over sixty-five-point-eight miles!" Meiying moaned. I met Feng's eyes and we rolled our eyes in synchronization; only Meiying could have figured that out that quickly.

"Actually it's sixty-five-point-eight-six-five-three-four-six-three-seven-seven-one-five-seven-five miles," Liang corrected. Strike that last comment. Only _Liang _could have figured that out that quickly (when I mean girls like him for his brains, I _mean_ his brains). If possible, Meiying's face paled.

"Actually, you converted wrong, remember it's point-six-two miles to a kilometer, so actually, it's sixty-five-point-eight-six-five-three-four-six-three-seven-seven-one-five-seven-_four_ miles, not five," Meiying corrected him once she was calm. The rest of us just stared, mouths agape.

"Brilliant," Liang grinned, flashing her a charming smile that made my feelings rear up in protectiveness. Meiying blushed and shrugged.

"It was nothing to a Zhuge, right, 'Zhuge Liang'?" Meiying grinned in response. **(A/N: Apparently, in all Asian countries they write their surname first then their first name… oh, only people who are obsessed with 'The Three Kingdoms Era' in China, **_**Dynasty Warriors**_**, or **_**Romance of the Three Kingdoms**_** would understand the 'Zhuge Liang' joke.)**

Meiying, Liang, and I chuckled at our inside joke; our other friends looked to each other in perplexity- completely oblivious to 'The Three Kingdoms Era'.

"Whatever!" Feng finally burst out, irritably.

"I can carry you, don't worry, you only have to make it to 'Bruno's' and 'Jia Na Ma Ni'," I smiled at my personal wonder reassuringly.

"How do you expect to carry me over sixty-five miles?" Meiying pointed out. Each and every one of my friends glanced at each other and we all rolled our eyes.

"Master Li makes us run a hundred miles every weekend, not this weekend, a special present to him for Ce-," (I ignored Meiying as she scoffed at 'special present'; though I usually agreed with Meiying- avoiding Master Li for a weekend seemed like an ideal present to me), "-with seventy-five pound (which equals to a total of one-hundred-fifty) ankle weights on each ankle. Sixty-pound (which, obviously, equals to a total of one-hundred-twenty) wrist weights, and we have to hold our wrists out like we're hobos begging for food or something- I _think _I can carry a barely eighty-pounds girl for sixty-five miles walking."

All my friends and I laughed at my sarcastic remark, but Meiying still looked unconvinced and all but anxious and concerned with everything in her heart.

"Take me and bring me without getting wounded for me, won't you?" Meiying pleaded quietly, boring into my eyes with her captivating hazel ones. Even though my friends let out amused hoots of laughter, I ignored them. It felt as though all the world was empty except for us, and Meiying had said that to me, and only me.

"I will, and don't worry," I smiled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "We can take a rickshaw from Hancunhe back to Beijing, there's just nothing from Beijing to Hancunhe."

Meiying's face regained slight rosy and olive color.

"C'mon, let's go, you know what my parents do when they wake up in the morning- we can't risk waking them up," I whispered furiously back to my friends before we crept gently down the stairs.

"Hell-_looo_!" Feng imitated my father in a whisper-bellow. And due to my _great_ planning, Yi forgot about the burglar-trick-step and it made a shrill, spine-tingling creak; which caught Yi off guard and alarmed him, so, typically, he tripped down the stairs and landed on Liang- knocking the wind out of him.

"YI!" I hissed as quietly as I could without yelling. I quickly ran to tug Yi off of Liang, as Yi wasn't hurt due to the 'cushioning' of his fall, and checked Liang.

"You all right, man?" I asked my most silent best friend.

"Yeah, just, out of breath," Liang gasped. I shot a glare at Yi who was still apologizing fervently.

"He forgives you, okay? Just shut up!" Feng hissed from the top of the mahogany staircase.

"Wait… how're you and Yun supposed to get down in your wheelchairs?" I wondered aloud. Feng sighed.

"Like this," Yun's voice sang from behind me. Meiying- who was closest to me at that point- and I jumped a bit before revolving on the spot to see Yun grinning goofily behind us.

"How… what…. Prank… only… Yun… what!" I spluttered. Yun cocked an eyebrow.

"It's called the 'Prank Ramp' we built a few years ago? Remember? We put it on the other staircase while you were remodeling it even though you never finished?" Feng answered for Yun, rolling himself towards us.

I slapped my forehead and groaned. Meiying arched one perfect eyebrow, crossed her arms tightly, and tapped her foot, as if she was a cartoon expecting some explanation from me.

"Didn't I tell you, over a hundred times, never, _ever_, mention that in front of Meiying!" Liang and I both bellowed in a hushed tone, well… at least, as quietly as possible. Feng and Yun cowered slightly under our bellows and rolled back a bit on their wheelchairs. I stepped towards them menacingly, though I wasn't actually planning on hurting handicap people, but a slender, little hand stopped me.

"Get _out _of the way Meiying. I need to kill them before you kill me," I growled, halting (though I easily could have kept going) against the cool hand my torso. Feng and Yun's eyes widened at the word 'kill' and they simultaneously backed away at a brisk pace.

"No, I think it's the other way around. I kill _you_ first," Meiying cooed in my ear, as if she was a villainess hissing and toying with their prey. I gulped.

"I'm not carrying you to Hancunhe Village," I protested weakly, already being taken by her sweet smile and hands teasing me. She glowered at me.

"Fine," She snapped, agreeing stonily, moving away from me. Even as she left, my heart still raced at five-hundred-beats-per-minute. I sighed in relief; I had no idea how long I could've handled that before I would've impulsively blew up.

However, Meiying didn't know _why_ I was relieved, so a look of agony shot across her face before it became impassive. I felt nauseous, and not the kind where you really have to… _empty _your esophagus, but when you're around the girl who makes your life, well… life. The girl who makes the sun rise for you. Who you'd do anything for. And then you hurt them. That's the kind of nauseous I was feeling.

I _wished _I could apologize, and comfort her, and make things right, but that wasn't _my _(hot, jets of hate burned up inside of me as I thought of Dre) job to do. After all, I had only been relieved that I hadn't exploded and that she didn't kill me, not that she had left; my heart was burning for her to be that close again.

"Awkward," Yi whispered down to his brother who nodded. Even as that was said, for several more unnecessary moments Meiying was slightly slouched and her face was turned away from me, and I was leaned forward slightly, my arms extended halfway and my eyes focused on only her.

"Let's go," Liang finally muttered inaudibly; I barely heard him over the voice in my head screaming _TELL HER YOU LOVE HER, YOU IDIOT! DO _SOMETHING,and my heart pounding in my ears.

"Ye-yeah…" Meiying's voice came softly, but I could tell, as much as she tried to keep her emotions from flooding her voice, hurt in her voice dripped in, given away by the clear stutter.

I looked away, dropping my hands to my sides and leading the way out the door. As we began the adolescent journey or adventure (whichever you prefer), Feng rolled his wheelchair slower to fall in pace with me.

"Why'd you do that? That was cold," Feng probed coldly, yet at the same time, his voice was gentle, as if he knew I hadn't meant it in _that _way. I exhaled deeply.

"I was relieved that she didn't _murder _me and I didn't spontaneously combust," I explained. Feng cocked an eyebrow.

"Err, well, when the girl of your dreams gets that close to you, and you can't exactly react to all that… seducing? You-," I made a feeble attempt to explain, feeling awkward all the whilst. Feng held up a hand to silence me, slowing down his wheelchair rolling, quickly catching on and wheeling again.

"Aahhh. Stupid wheelchair; Mǔqīn tā mā de, yīkuài fèiqì báichī [Mother **(A/N: A word I really shouldn't translate)**, idiotic piece of scrap]," Feng growled, swearing heavily. Meiying, Liang, and I wasted no time in shooting him a fierce glare, trying to get him to shut up so the civilians around us would stop staring, mouth agape, whilst Yi and Yun laughed and bumped knuckles with each other, proclaiming that Feng was 'growing up' (which seemed a bit thick to me as he was already three years older and twice as mature… at least, when he wasn't upset over something). Usually, Feng didn't swear, but when he did, it was Yi and Yun's tasks to get all keyed up about it.

"Now that you've got that off your chest, let's move on, shall we?" Meiying suggested urgently, shielding her face from on-lookers; it wouldn't pass good for her parents' reputation that their daughter was seen with a swearing, deprived, and bad-influential boy (not that Meiying cared in the least). Grabbing my hand, she led the way out of that part of town, even though several civilians were still following us with their eyes. After a while, she recalled that she was supposed to be displeased with me and immediately withdrew her hand.

Feng urged his wheelchair to go faster as he managed to catch up to me. I glanced down at him, still slightly appalled by his use of vocabulary.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel that way with Shangxiang all the time," Feng responded to our earlier conversation. Feng's reassurance and comforting smile made me forget my distressed attitude towards him and only made me think of one thing- relief.

"Oh, good," I smiled in respite.

"Is that why you sighed?" Meiying asked, and I noticed a little, teeny-tiny bit of optimism in her voice. Maybe there was hope after all.

"Meiyi, you are the most amazing creature I've ever met; how could you _possibly _think I thought _you _were repulsive?" I asked incredulously as I took her hand and gazed as deeply into her hazel eyes as I could, trying to find what had kept me going for so long. I found it; she did, I knew she did, but she didn't know it… but still, that didn't deny the fact that her eyes screamed 'I love you!' with all of their… retinas? **(A/N: I couldn't exactly say with all of their hearts, could I?)**

Meiying blushed deeply, turning several shades of pink, scarlet, crimson, and finally settling on burgundy and lowered her gaze, gently pulling her hand out of my grasp and twirling her fingers in a timid, absentminded fashion as several girls our age, younger, and much older shot her envious glances and me longing ones (which I pointedly disregarded). She looked just like a little chipmunk when she did that.

"All right you two, no 'PDA'," Yi teased while Yun made kissing faces at us. I rolled my eyes, slightly blushing because Yun's reaction had made me wonder what kind of a bliss it would be to kiss Meiying; Meiying plain out glared furiously at the floor, her entire (probably cherry) face hidden behind her ebony hair- I could only tell her cheeks were flushing as furiously as she was glaring at the ground because her ears (which surprisingly showed over the tangle of her ebony hair) were a deep shade of rose.

"Yeah, 'cause you definitely don't do _any _of that while you're with Xia, right, Yun?" I shot back and Yi fell over on the floor, shaking with laughter while Yun glowered at his shoes. Feng and Liang chuckled.

"Let's just go to Bruno's," Yun grumbled, rolling himself towards the main street. Meiying and I grinned at each other and slapped each other high fives. I caught and intertwined our fingers, bringing them closer so I could savor the sight of Meiying Jinee Yu's fingers braided in with my own. We stood there for several slightly unnecessary minutes, only looking into each other's eyes before we came back to reality with a jolt.

Meiying untwined our interlocked fingers finally, a deep, crimson color settling on her cheeks, wearing an expression as though she would've been much more pleased to walk hand-in-hand with me, and sprinted towards our friends; beckoning me to follow. I felt nauseous again; as if the world was spinning 'round and 'round until it burst- right inside of my heart. Even though Meiying usually did things like this (rejecting, denying, and ignoring all of my attractions and flirting- not as if I was interested in Meiying for _just _her looks… and body… thinking that made me shudder- as if they [my deep, loving attractions] were just petty nuisances), it still didn't deny the way I felt was exactly like the metaphor that Feng and I had come up with (well the _two _we had created): 'Like being slapped across the face' and/or 'As if your heart was shattered into a thousand pieces'.

**

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(A/N: Warning, the next two paragraphs will involve unnecessary and heavy swearing [well, heavy from a nine to eleven-year-old kid's point of view; if you're younger, you probably shouldn't be reading or trying to understand the emotions in this story]. Now that that's said, enjoy!)

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**

Why did love and war have to be so complicated? Isn't it 'All's fair in love and war'? Not, 'All's so scary you wet your pants and flee like a douche in love and war'? I exhaled deeply, shoving my hands deep into the pockets of my plaid, burgundy-and-cream (don't ask about the hideous color mix) pajamas (only just realizing all of us were still in our sleeping things; blushing heavily as I notified Feng of this who chuckled) and following Meiying who had caught up to our friends and was animatedly conversing with Liang.

"… 'All's fair in love and war' my ass… what kind of bullshit is that? Who the hell came up with it?" I grumbled, kicking a stone that just so _happened _to be in my path; why did I feel as though this were a movie scene? I mean random stones don't pop out of nowhere so you can kick them like in some corny, romance movie or book. Who wrote that idea into the script anyway? Harald Zwart? **(A/N: I have nothing against the writers and director of 'The Karate Kid', but when Cheng's upset I have to make him seem like a jackass.)**

"Interesting choice of words, oh-fearless-Kung-Fu-prodigy," Feng said with a cocked eyebrow, interrupting my pointless and in vain (of trying to distract myself) train of thought, rolling his wheelchair in front of me.

I grinned sheepishly.

"My vocabulary is colorful, if I do say so myself, oh-so-great-Captain-Kung-Fu-pervert."

"You've got it all wrong; that's Yi and Yun's championship-tag-team title, Cheng," Liang interjected quietly, shaking his head in mock dismay as though I had made a huge error in some million-dollar budget contract.

The randomness of it all, not to mention Liang actually insulting someone whereas he was in a good mood was downright impossible made us all burst into loud laughter- my pain and misery forgotten.

* * *

"Nǐ wèishéme yào yīgè gǒu shǐ zhè bàng de dàngāo [Why do you want ten-pound cake of shit]?" The old man with watery, misty eyes and absolutely disturbing strands of silver hair poking out of his ears bellowed. The bakery fell silent- all eyes on Bruno who appeared to be oblivious to this.

I slapped my forehead in an emotion beyond exasperation- it had been nearly half-an-hour that I'd been talking to Bruno, not to mention it was almost eight-thirty, and it would take two hours to go and return from Hancunhe village, and a half-an-hour at 'Jia Na Ma Ni', plus we had to be back by noon to decorate and gather all the guests -before I remembered 'chocolate' in Chinese was a nicer way of saying… 'number two'.

"Méiyǒu gé lán pǔ sī, wǒ de yìsi shì qiǎokèlì zài, tiánmì tángguǒ... Dōngxi ma? Yīgè bīngqílín qiǎokèlì, zhè bàng de dàngāo yǔ jiāo táng hé nǎiyóu guàn zhuāng, qǐng [No Gramps, I meant CHOCOLATE as in, the sweet candy... thing? One ice cream _CHOCOLATE_, ten-pound cake, with caramel and cream filling, please]," I ordered extremely and excruciatingly leisurely, my patience dissolving as I repeatedly checked my cobalt watch, wincing as it flashed the time back at me and shifting slightly (in a thoroughly uncomfortable manner) as the second hand ticked louder and louder, slower and slower, as if just to test my patience.

"Ó, nǐ wèishéme bù zhèyàng shuō ne? Hǎo ba, zhè jiāng shì zài bàn yīgè xiǎoshí de zhǔnbèi [Oh, why didn't you say so? All right, it'll be ready in half-an-hour]," Bruno beamed about two feet west of me. I sighed and shared an exasperated look with Liang- if Bruno wasn't the best baker in Beijing, I definitely wouldn't have come to the nearly hearing-impaired and blind man's shop.

"Yeah…" Feng responded for me, as I was opened my mouth to bellow several inappropriate things at the old man. Meiying grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it, capturing my eyes with her own- her silent way of telling me not to murder Bruno in his sleep.

"Let's. Go. To. 'Jia Na Ma Ni'. Now. Before. I. Kill. Someone," I hissed through gritted teeth. My friends all exchanged a worried glance with each other before hastily backing out of the shop, their eyes trained on me. I stormed out of the store- ignoring all the eyes focused on my back.

"What street is 'Jia Na Ma Ni' on?" Yi asked nervously, his eyes flicking up at me before he went back to staring sullenly at the floor.

"It's right by the highway next to the Olympic City," Liang answered just as inaudibly and we began towards our next destination. Meiying was watching me, as though expecting a sudden outburst or something, but when none came, she stepped closer and wound her hand around mine.

With a jolt, I realized, _Meiying _just held _my _hand. My head jerked to her face with a bewildered expression and my eyebrows raised. She shrugged as if to say _'What? I felt like it'_. A smile replaced the befuddled expression on my face and it only widened when Meiying came closer and used her other hand to grip my forearm.

"I'm cold," She explained with a shrug when Liang raised his eyebrows at us. He snorted loudly.

"Yeah, sure you are- in May?" Liang sniggered **(A/N: The Xǐshàijié festival is apparently in May, and since that's only two days from this chapter, I figured…)**.

Meiying stuck her tongue our childishly and I automatically smiled.

"Who asked you, Zhuge?" Meiying countered.

"I could ask you the same thing, Yu," Liang shot back. The two scowled at each other for a while as we rounded the corner, edging towards the highway, not bothering to stop as we crossed the street (though Meiying wasn't in danger as she was clinging onto me).

"Onyx Corolla," Feng warned as Liang effortlessly tossed himself over the Toyota Corolla hurtling towards him. I suppose it was part of the reason that it _was _Liang's fault when we sprinted (well, Yun and Feng rolled) for the sake of not being sued as the same onyx Corolla crashed into a nearby teak telephone pole.

"You couldn't have just dodged it? Of course not, _no_, hot-shot Zhuge had to do an inverted flip over it so the driver could gape at him and drive straight into a pole," Meiying half-scolded half-hissed at Liang who glared at the floor in shame.

"That's enough, Meiyi," I cooed, gently rubbing her arm, trying to pacify her. What none of us expected was her reaction.

I didn't really see it, but a familiar stinging sensation tugging my head to the side told me what had happened. With two fingers on my right cheek (now only slightly stinging) I stared down, appalled and bewildered, at my love, at a lost for words.

"Don't tell me what to do, Sun," She growled, taking a step towards me. Her reaction was what brought up my defense and the roaring flames of rage that made Cheng Zhuang Sun the feared bully of Beijing Junior High.

"You gonna' do something about it if I do, Yu?" I snarled. "I understand it was Liang's fault, _look _at him! His face practically sunk to the floor in dishonor when he saw what happened, not to mention his parents are probably going to punish him severely when they hear! He doesn't need cheek from you- _Jinee_!"

Meiying gaped at me, all rage lost in her bewildered and slightly hurt face- no one called her by her middle name to her face except for her parents when they were punishing or scolding her. Even though it now pained me to say this- I wasn't finished.

"Do you have to be such a-a cheeky little… a cheeky little spoiled brat all the time?" I sneered, resentment flooding every fiber and cell of my being before I took a deep breath and spoke in a high-pitched voice- imitating Meiying. "_'Oh Cheng, you really should have bought a Sports Car', 'Oh Cheng, you really should have done your homework', Oh Cheng, Oh Cheng, _OH CHENG!"

Meiying shrunk back as I bellowed this directly in front of her face. Cheng Zhuang Sun, the one who loved Meiying with all his heart was literally cursing the monster I was at the current moment so loud that I honestly couldn't hear my thoughts; but that didn't mean I was oblivious to my Meiying's eyes dissolve into the same glossy, garnet orbs before bursting fully into tears.

I didn't have time to gauge her reaction before she screamed, "I can't believe you had to go that far!"

She sprinted off, leaving me gaping after her and my friends fiercely glowering at me. The world seemed to slow down as shock sent my mind blank. Everything revolved around me in slow motion before Feng's deep voice broke into the strange realm I was in- thankfully, returning me to sweet, normal reality.

"Dude, you could've just waited for her to calm down," Feng interjected as he regained his senses. Okay, now I would've rather taken the spinning realm of doom or hell or whatever that was.

"Yeah, no need to be so cold," Yun agreed, also coming back to his senses. Yi simple shook his head in dismay.

"Go stop her, we don't need an accident on our hands, as well as she may get hurt," Liang piped up. I raised my eyebrows.

"Why do you care? She was giving you crap," I countered, melting slightly at the thought of Meiying hurt. Liang shrugged.

"Do you think I care? She's one of our best friends, now go save her."

"Are you kidding? This is Meiying _Jinee _Yu we're talking about here; she can handle herself," I argued weakly, having half the mind to ditch my friends and sprint after the girl I love, to apologize and hold her in my arms, shielding her from any unseen forces of harm.

"So?" Liang shot back. "Let me see if I can put it into less complex terms… you're in love with her! You _live _for her! We would never be all right with it if Meiying got hurt, especially you, Cheng. What would you do if she got hurt? Got _killed_?-" I flinched, "-Now go save her or we're all going to kick your ass- meet us at 'Jia Na Ma Ni'."

I snorted- even with Yi and Liang against me, I would still win, but I nodded and sprinted after Meiying. My thoughts were solely focused on her as I prayed she wasn't wounded (well, at least physically) because of my mastery at the art of idiocy. I saw a figure, slightly shorter, skinnier, and extremely chipmunk-like hunched, sobs emitting from it as it shook with the force of an earthquake. As if my life depended on it (and it probably did, as Meiying was my life, and her own life was in danger), I galloped towards the crying raven-haired beauty that was Meiying.

"Meiying!" I bellowed. When she saw me she turned and began running again. Skidding to a stop, I merely gaped- how could she still be running with so much energy and stamina after crying and running so far? I swiftly rattled my head back to my senses and took off after her again.

I still had no idea how she managed to run as far as she did. Meiying sprinted on and on, still sobbing. Slowly, the picture around us began to change- from city, it went to downtown. After awhile, the atmosphere changed again- from downtown, it went to highways. From highways to the middle of nowhere, from the middle of nowhere to the shoreline, from the shoreline to village, from village to the middle of nowhere again, to… wow.

The entire 'chase-scene' duration she sobbed relentlessly and my heart pulsed not only with grief, but weariness and my breathing grew ragged as I forced my legs to keep pumping with ferocity after her, my mind spinning and black spots blearing out my vision as I continued to sprint after, even as my energy and stamina slowly evaporated.

I couldn't focus well, but I managed to notice the change in time as well. At first, the sun was blistering, soaring above us, then gradually the sky turned a light shade of lavender, tinted with a slightly teal shade of blue and scattered cherry clouds and the sun turned crimson as it sank beneath the waves of the ocean, the glare of the sun against the calm, sapphire water, then the sky slowly darkened to midnight, and the moon hung above us, it's illumination slightly shadowed with grayish-ebony clouds.

My stomach emitted a loud growl as I could feel my ragged breaths making my burnt throat ache as my lips grew chapped **(A/N: All you girls out there: Oh Noes! Cheng better be okay John or we're going to hunt you down!) **; Meiying was tiring as well (finally) as the sun began to rise again. I gaped- we had been running for over twenty-four hours. I ignored the beauty of the sun rise and continued my pursuit. My stomach acids now burned, the inside of my throat was probably raw and rotting away, and my lips were cracked as we arrived at a location I knew very well, even though I usually slept through Science.

"Meiying, please," I rasped pleadingly when she slowed to a walk. "Stop… I can't go on, but I can't bear to see you get hurt… I'm thirsty, and I need to make sure you're okay and we need some food and water…"

Meiying eventually stopped. I collided into her, and for awhile, we just lied on the stone floor, arms wrapped around each other; Meiying sobbing dryly (as all the tears had probably evaporated due to the dehydration) against me.

"I'm… sorry… can't… apologize… longer… want… to," I gasped with difficulty, my throat cutting rawer and rawer with every whisper. Meiying nodded her forgiveness.

"Love… you," I murmured quietly against her hair. I glanced around as I realized where we were. I gaped- wow. We had really, _really _ran for over a day-and-a-half. I effortlessly recognized the stone around us from my Science textbook, with its sea green moss and roots splitting the stone bricks apart as they grew along the walls and floor; I recognized the bush hanging and swaying over the stone wall, as if they were waving at us, and I suddenly felt the strange, mad desire to wave back. Wow, not eating really did make male teenagers lose it.

We were at a monks' temple half-way through the county of ... just... Wow.

"Meiying… I think we're in Lulong," I gasped tiredly, acknowledging her fearful, shocked, and widened hazel eyes before we both lost consciousness.

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A/N: Wow, I am truly sorry for this horrible chapter- it was supposed to be a filler chapter anyway, as are the next few chapters since Meiying doesn't ask Dre out to the festival until they're back at school. Don't worry, they won't die. Yes, I also apologized for the rushed ending and the extremely long wait for this chapter- I hope you can find it in your sweet, sincere, loving hearts to forgive me for the wait and enjoyed the extra long chapter. So, what did you think other than the crappy… rushed-ness? Please review and thank you for bearing with me! I have plenty of ideas for the next few chapters so don't worry- no more EXTREMELY long waits. In case any of you are wondering, Lulong is approximately... one-hundred-and-forty-five-point-four-zero-zero-eight-five-nine miles from Beijing. Yeah, I really _did _torture these poor little teens, didn't I? Haha, I really hope you liked this chapter, as I spent a _lot _of time processing and thinking about it. Unfortunately, this did _not _reach the ten-thousand word milestone as I had planned, and this is my longest chapter, but only with about a hundred word difference from the last one. Ugh. Don't you just hate life?  
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**Always Grateful,**

**-John**

**P.S. I love you all, you're AWESOME! Thank you for the heart-warming reviews, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**P.S.S. Can any of you point out any grammar mistakes or anything I made? I was up until three in the morning writing this and I'm exhausted from Taekwondo, an extra class, work, and this, so I don't have any energy to check it. And, as always, PLEASE review, no matter how short or random, as I'd love to know you all read the new chapter. Please also vote on my poll and have a good night/day all of you! ;)  
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	9. Hanging On By a Thread

**A/N: Wow, thank you, all of my loving, supporting, and dedicated viewers. UGH! **_**ItalianBabe **_**I'm really, really, **_**really **_**sorry I haven't done the 'Beautiful Flower' chapter yet, but new ideas keep popping into my head… But I promise I will do that chapter after the ****The Xǐshàijié Festival chapter. I guess this is pushy of me to say, and go ahead and point that out in your reviews, but I'm a bit put off I only got one person to "R&R" my new chapter within the first twenty-four hours. However, life's not fair and doesn't revolve around me, so I'm not going to make a fuss. Also, there is one message written in Chinese that is **_**not **_**translated, and I'm challenging you to figure it out. Whoever figures out the right answer first will get to read a preview of Chapter Nine. Well, during the first few chapters he was ten, **_**Sick Twisted**_**, but now he's eleven, obviously (wow, I'm stupid); most eleven-year-olds these days **_**are**_** scary, haha, just like my little brother Noah. Enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter Eight

Hanging On By a Thread

My head was still spinning when I awoke, and it took quite a few minutes to wait for the world around me to stop revolving and the black spots to dematerialize; the sun was boiling directly over us, as if teasing us with its ability to burn us to a crisp. My throat was still raw, but slightly more hydrated and it didn't ache nearly as much.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was Meiying's hazel brown eyes boring into mine, the sense of fear and shock still present in them.

"_Lulong_?" Meiying mouthed at me with an expression that clearly stated she was praying that I would unexpectedly laugh, call her silly, and tell her that it was all a joke. I nodded, slightly uncomfortable with her heat, though at any other time where I wasn't baking of heat, I would've been pleased. Meiying's face fell ever-so-slightly, and my heart did a back flip of sorrow at seeing her crestfallen like this.

"Yeah, I recognize this temple from our Science textbooks, remember Mr. Sima's class? Um…" I finally murmured against her hair, unsure of what else to say. "Oh, Jesus! I forgot! We need to get water _fast_. I know a human can go ninety-six hours without water and we've only gone forty-six hours, but since we've been sprinting the whole time, our water supply dehydrated at more than twice the regular speed and the irregularity of the schedule makes it so… if we don't find water in the next half-an-hour, we're dead."

Meiying gaped wordlessly at me.

"Okay, c'mon, we have to run," I pleaded her. She leapt up immediately, not using the Chinese kick-up like myself (and I doubted she knew how). I wound our hands together and we begin to sprint through the seemingly endless stone pathway. I counted the minutes in my head as we searched… one… two… three… five… nine… twelve…

My spirits were crushed and I was on the verge of panic when we _still _didn't sight a smooth, cerulean source of water.

"Oh! Remember that one legend about how there's always a monk next to the fresh stream of water?" Meiying probed, stopping me approximately fifteen minutes later, tugging my hand hard enough so I'd stop jogging. I inclined my head towards her, my attention still slightly diverted.

"Yeah… what're you… Oh! The monk is always south-west of the sun at two o'clock," I exclaimed, the memories of my father sitting on a tree stump and reading the old legends to Feng, Ce, Liang, Yi, Yun, Meiying, and me evoking immediately. Meiying and I exchanged a hopeful glance before I drew a sharp breath and read my watch.

"Yes," Meiying and I hissed in unison. Two o'clock shined back at me, and my watch seemed extremely pleased with itself as it let out a little, high-pitched sound (or maybe because I'd set my watch to beep every hour).

"Ugh, times like this really make me wish Liang was here," I commented as I tried to figure out which direction to spin. Meiying rolled her eyes.

"What?" I grumbled irritably. Meiying shot me an expression appropriate to show when you thought someone was hopelessly bemused or stupid, or an absolute lunatic.

"You know, I have no idea how you get such high points at school," Meiying sighed. As a response to my raised eyebrows, Meiying began speaking again.

"The sun sets towards which direction?" Meiying asked me. Wow, that was random.

"The east," I stated simply.

"Yeah, so if the opposite direction of where the sun is right now is west, and south is that way," Meiying continued, pointing at a direction parallel to us, dropping my hand. "Then that means south-west is…?"

"That way," I answered stupidly, glaring at the floor in lower spirits and dishonor. Meiying smirked.

"Captain Obvious strikes again… let's go!" Meiying urged when she recalled our desperate situation and realized that we only had ten minutes left.

I grabbed her hand again in a gentle but urgent grasp and began sprinting towards the direction she had pointed out. Though we ran for about two minutes, it seemed like three years. The tenth of a mile we ran may as well been a thousand miles as the stone pathway stretched on endlessly in front of us.

At last, when we had nearly five minutes left, we arrived at the Tiger Well **(A/N: Not to be confused with the magic Kung Fu water from the Dragon Well, and this well only has regular water, in case you're wondering)**. The Tiger Well wasn't necessarily a well; it was more of a stone fountain, with elegant carvings of monks on the granite rim. Inside the well, there was a pit, about three or four inches deep and filled to the brim of icy, cerulean water. The water was exactly aligned with the edge of the well, and it resembled a smooth, clear stone. The sun reflected off of it, and for a moment, I was mesmerized how the water emitted a silver glow and the sun reflected little shards of diamonds on the water.

Remembering our situation, I shook my head out of the trance and tugged Meiying towards the well.

The monk, who I had heard about in the old legends my father told us, was sitting atop… well, levitating atop a tree stump, his eyes shut tightly behind his wire-rimmed spectacles; he was obviously in a deep meditative state. However, the monk didn't match the legend's description at all- this monk had thin wisps of silver and white hair poking out of his chin and sideburns, he also had a moustache. The monk's hair was all missing on the front, revealing a large part of his head and his forehead; his wavy hair was ebony, silver, and pallid at the same time, protruding from the side and back of his head and curling up at the ends- it went down to about a few inches below his ears. His skin was slightly tanned and heavily wrinkled- this man looked to be at least a hundred years old.

I was distracted by how he was levitating and how his ginger robes flew about him like an orange cloud, but Meiying's firm tug brought me back to reality. Meiying and I practically dunked our heads into the water and drank as if there were no tomorrow; I was careful to grip the granite rim as though the water would abruptly disappear if I didn't keep a hold on it.

When Meiying's gulping stopped, I broke off from the water, as I was hydrated now (though I could've done with a few more sips), and there were only a few drops left in the well. I pulled back with a sheepish grin mirroring Meiying's when I saw the monk sitting cross-legged, looking quite comfortable, with his eyebrows raised at us.

"Duìbùqǐ, wǒmen zǒu liǎo yī bǎi duō yīnglǐ [Sorry, we walked over a hundred miles and]-," Meiying began, but the monk nodded his understanding and pressed a finger to his lips and pointed at his own throat. Meiying arched a perfect eyebrow and turned her attention to me.

"Is he telling me to shut up?" Meiying whispered. I pressed my lips against her ear.

"Bù, tā shuō tā cǎiqǔ le chénmò de shìyán [No, he's saying he's taken an Oath of Silence]," I explained back in a whisper. Meiying mouthed the word _Oh _and we both turned back to the man who nodded at me, as if confirming my answer.

Then suddenly, his misty gray eyes pierced both of ours in an unbreakable gaze, forcing us to look back. He tilted his head slightly to the side, as if analyzing a brand-new species, yet, as if he knew what we were or where we came from. Suddenly, he picked up a stiff oak branch and wrote a few characters on the dirt.

我想知道你从哪来的。我会请一个哥哥和尚谁将会有一辆汽车来带你回家

"I think know where you're from. I will call a brother monk who will have a car come and take you back home," I translated out loud. The monk nodded his approval of my ability to read Chinese, a smug grin on his face. I smirked back and Meiying rolled her eyes.

"Like monk like idiotic cutie," Meiying stated, rolling her eyes. I realized her mistake before she did, and we both caught each other's eyes. I raised my eyebrows and smiled flirtatiously, winking at her. She blushed and rolled her eyes.

"'Cutie'?" I questioned with a smirk. If possible Meiying's blush deepened, going from cherry to burgundy.

"That… wasn't supposed to slip out," Meiying answered in quietly, gazing at her midnight converse sneakers. My grin only widened.

"So you _are _falling madly in love with me," I proclaimed. Meiying rolled her eyes, all traces of a blush disappearing as she shoved me and instead, failed and fell straight into my waiting arms. I grinned playfully as she glared at me.

"No, I just think you look sort of, a little… cute… when you smirk… like a sister would think of her little brother," Meiying explained. I leaned close so our faces were inches apart, and I ignored and pretended that my heart wasn't racing at a thousand-beats-per-minute. Meiying's breathing cut off as I smirked.

"I think you look _adorable _when you smirk, love," I breathed, letting my breath wash out over her face. My smirk only widened when she gasped.

"And anyway I'm older by two months," I grinned, pulling away and ruining the moment as much as I would've loved to cling to Meiying. We were both dizzy, but Meiying tried not to show it as she flashed another one of her signature adorable-chipmunk, alluring smiles. I failed.

When I averted my attention back to the monk, he was beaming at us, looking back and forth between us.

你在年轻的爱?

"Yes!" I cried with a victorious grin at the same time Meiying looked shocked and repulsed and cried angrily in unison, "No!"

Meiying and I glared at each other before letting out two grunts ("Hmph") and turning away from each other- arms tightly crossed; pausing only to turn back at each other and shut our eyes tightly and stick out our tongues childishly before glaring in opposite directions once again.

The monk smiled and a hearty, deep chuckle sounded from behind us. In our shock we whirled around and gaped, forgetting our little squabble. We definitely had not expected a young monk as a 'brother monk'.

Especially not a handsome teen who looked to be about nineteen-years-old. He had a hairstyle that reminded me vaguely of the American pop-rock star, Elvis Presley. It was slicked in an untidy, casual back brush and evidently filled with several pounds of gel. His expression was neutral, yet good-natured and kind-hearted at the same time. The newly arrived teen's complexion was smooth and arranged in a slightly longer than average, but most girls would find that attractive. His skin was tanned the same shade as the monk, and it didn't take me very long to realize that this monk was Japanese and from Okinawa.

I was only mildly surprise from his choice of wardrobe; he wasn't wearing monk robes. He had on a crimson wife beater, a camouflage-colored vest that resembled one that the American military soldiers wore, minus the grenades, gunpowder, and bullets, obsidian converse sneakers, and dark jeans.

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**(A/N: In case you haven't noticed by now, I've included Mr. Miyagi and Chozen-san in my story. I think Chozen could be a better person if he wasn't raised like that. And anyway, I have no idea what his last name is, so I just put his name as Chozen-san. Enjoy!)

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"Um… hi? Are you the one who's going to drive us?" I asked in English, as the monk spoke neither Chinese nor did I speak Japanese.

"Yeah. You guys are pretty young, when Elder Miyagi," The Young Monk began, nodding towards the smiling elder monk who was preparing to meditate again. "Mentioned a few lost adventurers, I thought he meant someone my age or older. Wow, what're you twelve-year-olds doing here?"

"You're pretty young to be a monk too," I shot back before composing myself. "Long story… how about I explain on the ride home?"

"Sure," The teen agreed impassively, but I heard dying, excessive curiosity in his voice leak out. I grinned.

We walked for quite awhile down the stone path before the young monk lead us into the forest. With Meiying in tow, I followed him through the forest until we arrived at a dirt path. Only after a few paces a bottle green jeep came into view. I dropped Meiying's hand for a moment to go get a closer view of the spectacular vehicle and to see what model it was. **(A/N: I dunno if Cheng's interested in cars, but in my story he is.)**

"Hey, my name's Chozen, by the way, Chozen-san," Chozen introduced himself warmly as I returned to the duo waiting for me.

"My name is Cheng, Cheng Sun, and this is Meiying, Meiying Yu," I answered, indicating myself and Meiying.

Chozen winked at Meiying and she giggled. I gritted my teeth and my hands balled into tight fists; I could feel my nails digging into my palms.

"You're a pretty one, aren't you?" Chozen complimented with a wink and Meiying blushed harder. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"Okay, seven-year age difference, let's go!" I urged, hopping into the jeep. Chozen and Meiying exchanged a grin; I wasn't sure if they were really flirting or just doing it to get on my nerves, but I honestly contemplated shoving Chozen out the jeep when he got in and drive Meiying and me to Beijing myself when Meiying blew a kiss at Chozen and he made the 'call-me' signal at her.

"You're right, he _does _get jealous easily. Chill out, Cheng," Chozen grinned. My anger changed to confusion.

"Wha-? You were… faking?" I asked; a fresh expression in place of my old enraged one.

"Of course, he's in college and I'm barely a seventh grader!" Meiying sneered at me as she hopped in next to me. Meiying turned immediately and gazed into my eyes without uttering a word. She smiled automatically when I pouted before having that same battling expression on her face.

I beamed; at least I was making progress.

"Okay, story-time," Chozen commented, revving the engine as the jeep roared to life. "Enough with the PDA."

Meiying and I both blushed and looked away, and it didn't really help as the jeep rumbled and vibrated as our journey began.

"Well, it all started out when we were planning one of my best friend's birthday…" I began in an ominous tone.

I began to unfold the story of today… and yesterday's adventures, and Meiying interjected some bits. We all laughed at the part with Bruno and when the Corolla crashed into a pole due to staring at Liang. However, Meiying and I were both a bit put off when we realized we missed Ce's birthday.

"Wow, who knew a little fight over an inverted flip would make you all wound up in Lulong," Chozen commented in awe when we finished our story, a single eyebrow cocked as he sat deep in thought.

Meiying and I grinned at each other. For awhile, we just watched the country side roll by, and before we knew it, we were by the coast.

"I dunno if I can make it to your hometown by today, so we'll make a pit-stop at a town nearby, and we can grab some grub, not to mention, some gas. Sound good?" Chozen called back.

"Yeah," We agreed.

"'Kay," He responded, before focusing on the road.

"Do you mind?" I whispered to Meiying as my hand inched towards hers. She shook her head.

"I'd like to hold my best friend's hand when I'm feeling lost," Meiying answered with a small, timid smile; I got the feeling she didn't mean lost just in the literal term, but in the emotional as well. I grinned widely at her authorization, intertwining our fingers. I wound my hand tightly but gently around hers, as if protecting it. I was surprised at how rigid and icy her fingers were from the cut-off from blood circulation, but I ignored it, relishing the feeling of my chipmunk's fingers entangled with mine.

"Mm, this feels nice, your hand is warm," Meiying hummed in approval. I chuckled.

"Well, I do try my best to keep my hand toasty," I joked. Meiying giggled. Eventually Meiying seemed to get bored of watching the scenery around us and began to nod off. I beamed when her head slumped onto my shoulder.

As gently as I could without waking her, I tilted my head until it was resting (though without putting any weight against it) on her own. For the next few hours, Chozen and I just talked and got to know each other- by the end of the few hours we'd driven by a city called 'Liaozhong' (for some reason, I recognized the name of the city but something felt not right, as if we were going in the wrong direction, but I couldn't really place my finger on what was wrong, nor which way Liaozhong was, so I just enjoyed the trip) we knew most of what was needed to know between us.

I told Chozen everything from my family name to my rivalry with Dre.

Chozen on the other hand, told my much less, but it involved much more time. Apparently, Chozen was the nephew of a rich man in Okinawa, his name was… Sato? Sato owned a Karate Dojo (which Chozen mentioned he and his Uncle were very talented at) and had been trained by the best Karate expert in Okinawa. There was also a rival that Chozen had when he was eighteen, a lot like my rivalry with Dre, but Chozen refused to tell me his name nor what had happened between them nor the name of his mentor, but I could gather as much.

He mentioned that his rival had given him the decision of life and death and Chozen had chosen **(A/N: Haha, Chozen had **_**chosen**_**) **death. However, his rival was too pure and compassionate to kill Chozen, so he simply honked his nose and gave him the choice of life. This compassion had convinced Chozen to 'start over' so he moved to China and started a new life.

When I asked about Elder Miyagi, Chozen's knuckles tightened so hard on the wheel that his knuckles turned white and the bones looked as if they were threatening to break through the skin.

"He's… a very good man. He's really skillful at Karate and has lived in China all his life, and has been a monk for quite a while, definitely much longer than I have, than I have and is really… _acquainted _with my rival," Chozen said carefully, as though choosing his words, but I noticed he was saying this through gritted teeth.

Why did I get the feeling he wasn't telling me something?

_Because he probably isn't, _genius_, _my conscience screamed at me.

_Shut up- hey, I thought you went away?_ I responded. My conscience shut up after that.

"We're going to have to cross a bridge… I think we'll get there by sun-up on Sunday. You're parents might make you miss school, since you'll be so tired, but I dunno if _he _will allow it," Chozen said darkly, his soulful-onyx focused on the road. I noticed his knuckles whitened at the mention of '_he_'.

Was he talking about my father? But that wouldn't make sense, since he said 'our parents'… _he _… hmm….

"We're going to make a pit-stop at Liaoyang for some gas and supplies and- oh crap," Chozen growled through gritted teeth.

"What?" I wondered aloud. Chozen let out a breath I didn't know he was holding.

"Traffic… in traffic this bad we won't make it for another four hours… I know a detour- it'll only take two hours," Chozen mused, and he seemed to be talking more to himself than me. "Hey, why don't you take a nap as well? Meiying's a girl sure, and she's more delicate, but you're still twelve and you need you're rest; Jesus Christ, you look exhausted."

Chozen said all of this in a concerned tone. I nodded before snorting.

"You have no idea how physically advanced I am for a twelve-year-old, but you're right… I suppose. 'Night," I commented. The older teen nodded.

"G'night," He said back in a tone as if he were agreeing with something.

I gently allowed more pressure on Meiying's head, careful not to hurt or wake her, and shut my eyes. Meiying's soft, feminine, deep breathing and tufts of hair gently blowing into my face calmed me. Before I knew it, I was dreaming extremely sweet dreams of everything I'd ever wanted- Meiying.

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"Oi! Cheng!" A older male's voice sounded from somewhere in my bedroom. Wait… my bed wasn't usually a three-seater in a jeep, and I usually didn't fall asleep on Meiying.

Last nights events spilled onto me, and I grinned and grimaced at the same time (probably creating a weird expression); smiling for Meiying and wincing because we were so far away from home. My expression must've been something to see, because Chozen burst into howls of laughter.

A little, chipmunk-like yawn told me Chozen had woken up Meiying.

"Nice job, arse," I complained as Meiying looked around in wonder and bewilderment.

"Where are we?"

"Liaoyang's biggest gas station, which reminds me, Cheng, do you want baozi or chaomein?" Chozen explained before averting his attention to me.

Meiying and I shared a look.

"Do you at all, know Cheng? Of course he wants baozi! And probably enough to feed all of China!" Meiying exclaimed. Chozen chuckled and I grinned sheepishly.

"You didn't mention that while we were talking," Chozen muttered.

"And you didn't tell me at least _what _that girl's name was," I shot back.

Chozen shot a dark glare at me before he went around back to fill up the gas tank. The instant the young monk was out of earshot Meiying piped up.

"What girl?" She demanded, her hazel eyes full of dominance, which I thought was extremely… attractive, adorable even. Okay, definitely adorable. I chuckled; I honestly couldn't find less than a thousand reasons, ever, when I began counting the reasons through my head- of why I loved her, of course.

Hmm, that reminds me… _one … two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… eleven… twelve… thirteen…_

I was up to seventy-eight before I noticed Meiying's slender, little hand waving barely an inch away from my face. Blinking in bewilderment, I returned my attention to her.

"_What_.Girl?" Meiying growled again. I chuckled.

"Jealous much?" I teased. Meiying's face drained of color and was replaced by a deep, dark shade of cherry.

"No…" She denied. I raised my eyebrows cheekily.

"So?" She tried again; her cheeks settling on an attractive color of cherry. At first, my expression was shocked, before it turned into one of my usual smirks.

"Told 'ya so!" I grinned. Meiying blushed harder.

"Just tell me about this girl…" Meiying muttered.

So I launched off into Chozen's story; explaining about his rival, his uncle Sato, his skills, his reasons for coming to China. When I mentioned the part about Miyagi, Meiying looked a bit bemused as well.

"Why would he be so cold about the Elder? He seemed pretty happy back at the temple," Meiying wondered aloud. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, of course, 'cause Miyagi was _there_!" I sniggered at my love's foolishness. Meiying smiled sheepishly.

"Oh yeah… so what about this girl! Where does she come in? What does this have to do with her?" Meiying slurred all three sentences so quickly it took me a few moments to react. I grinned.

"Chill, impatient much, I was getting to that," I laughed. Meiying crossed her arms and pouted as I continued; I gawked a bit at her adorable, chipmunk pout but then shook myself out of my trance and returned to the matter at hand.

"He says he was in love with Sato's love's niece, but she really… detested him; even before he got all… yeah. Then after so many years of rejection, he turned into a jerk, he made a gang, and all that resentment built up inside him and he turned into a complete… jackass. It didn't really help when she fell in love with his rival," I responded. Meiying covered her mouth with her hand.

"She fell in love… with his _rival_?" Meiying whispered, as if it were the most damned crime in the world.

"Don't say it like that when you did as well," I muttered under my breath. I wasn't sure if Meiying heard that, but I was sure she heard part of it because she viewed me with a blank, slightly shocked expression.

I couldn't read the expression, it was completely unfathomable. Her hazel eyes were impassive as her eyebrows were slightly raised and her lips were a straight line as she bored her eyes into mine. Only slightly uncomfortable, I shifted my weight; was it a sign of disbelief or disappointment?

I instantly regretted my action and lowered my gaze. But Meiying gently used her fingers to force my chin up and meet her gaze. Was she trying to tell me something through silent communication? I was always perceptive, but I never got that weird mouth-silent-language girls did in the classrooms, which was really stupid, especially since they were across the room from each other.

How did they even read each other's lips? **(A/N: Now you all now my opinion on when girls mouth words to each other or do that weird silent communication across the room from each other; it's really stupid and hard to get their attention for something more significant than a shopping trip or a guy.) **

"Her name was Kumiko," Chozen said quietly as he entered the jeep with a instant-ramen bowl and a white, paper package with several bulges I could only imagine were my baozi in one hand and a bottle of saké in the other with an expression that clearly read he'd rather be anywhere else in the world right now, or that he wanted to lose himself. Meiying and I broke our awkward communication and immediately scooted away from each other, dropping the subject of 'Kumiko'.

My chipmunk seemed a bit embarrassed by our silent conversation and blushed furiously, an adorable shade of cherry settling on her cheeks as she glared at her shoes.

"Whoa, you're not planning on drinking and driving are you?" I asked Chozen who raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, Cheng, because I left my brain at the convenience store. Of course not, it's already empty- I had it with my dinner and I feel remotely intoxicated," Chozen began scathingly, rolling his eyes before giving me a serious explanation.

"Here, eat," Chozen responded darkly, his expression going back to one that resembled clinical depression.

"Okay," I responded wearily, catching the white package Chozen tossed to me. He pulled out a pair of beautifully carved, mahogany chopsticks from the pocket of his vest before reaching into his glove compartment and pulling out a steel thermos.

Quickly uncapping it, he poured the boiling water which had small wisps of steam quickly emerging from the evaporating heated liquid into the small plastic bowl of ramen and spices as he pulled back the plastic cover. Once he emptied the thermos, (shaking it vigorously and tapping it over the bowl to confirm it was empty) he tossed it back in the glove compartment and swiftly locked it.

He stirred and prodded the pale beige noodles for a few moments with the ornate chopsticks before sealing the plastic cover over the bowl and placing the chopsticks on top. With a grin, he passed the bowl to Meiying.

"Thank you," She murmured as she held the bowl in her hands.

"Wait three minutes before you eat it; I don't mind if you eat it while I'm driving; we only have a few more hours to go, anyway," Chozen hastily explained before inserting the jingling keys into the ignition and revving the engine a few times.

The jeep roared to life and vibrated cheerily as Chozen backed out of the gas station.

"Meiying?" I murmured quietly.

"Yeah?" She whispered.

"Why do I get the feeling they're wrong? And that we're headed to a completely wrong place? Because Liaoyang seems familiar but… I can't recall where it's from," I hissed, voicing my worries.

"I feel it too… let's just see how this ends up, all right?" She whispered. I nodded, unsure of what else to say.

Glancing up at the sky I saw the moon gradually begin to fade, and move a centimeter towards the horizon with every minute (only I noticed this because of my extraterrestrial Kung Fu senses).

I sighed. Well, at least I'd be home by tomorrow- Sunday. Meiying seemed to have realized that most of our weekend had been wasted not to mention we had missed Ce's birthday celebration at the same time; we groaned exceedingly stridently while Chozen chortled. We only had Monday left of the Xǐshàijié break.

I still think we deserved at least until after the festival off (until Thursday), but the school principal disagreed. Oh well- all good things come to an end… don't they? I flinched as I glanced at Meiying.

If there was one good thing that shouldn't come to a destructive end, it was Meiying Jinee Choe. Heaving another great sigh I unwrapped the pallid package and deeply inhaled the aroma of barbequed pork. My mouth was producing endless saliva as I licked my lips and prepared to enjoy the first meal in a little under two days.

Filled to the brim, the white package held several of my favorite pouches of pork- baozi. Carefully, I picked up a single baozi. Several drops of saliva escaped my mouth as I admired the white little bun; it was an amazing invention- baozi. What, with its white, savory, steamed yeast-and-flour pouch, inside of the little bun, scrumptious, auburn barbequed pork with its palatable, saucy fluids oozing out of it.

I wasted no time in taking a bite big enough to dismantle half of it, chewing slowly, relishing in my small piece of oblivion. As soon as the first had slithered down my throat I began shoving baozi into my mouth with the enthusiasm that could match no other, soon Meiying stopped sipping her ramen soup and raised her eyebrows at me.

She continued eating her ramen again, scooting away afterwards (after she was done consuming ramen noodles), gradually, ever-so-slightly away from me, eyeing me wearily. Her expression was distasteful when I was finished, and I hastily pulled out the napkin at the bottom to cleanse my face.

Meiying rolled her eyes before her eyes settled on my cheek. She looked at my cheek curiously before hesitantly reaching a finger out to touch- or so I thought –cheek, and pulling her index finger back, a new glistening, golden-brown liquid on her finger. With a small, timid smile, she stuck the finger in her mouth and sucked away the sauce.

"Mmm, Cheng-flavored," Meiying teased. I rolled my eyes before blushing.

"What?" Meiying demanded.

"That's what she said," I muttered, lowering my gaze. Chozen burst into loud guffaws in the front seat as I grinned sheepishly at Meiying who looked puzzled. Then comprehension flickered and dawned on her face and she shoved me.

"Ew! Cheng!" She protested, unable to hide a small smile from me.

"See? Even you're grinning! Admit it, it was a little funny," I pointed out. Stubbornly, Meiying shook her head and pouted. With a huge grin plastered on my face, I leaned over and lightly tapped her lower lip.

"You're adorable, you know that, chipmunk?" I complimented her, meaning every word of it.

"Don't use lines on me," Meiying scoffed. Chozen and I shared a 'what-did-I-tell-you' expression before I turned back to Meiying, my eyebrows raised.

"Haven't I told you I mean every word of what I say to you- err, except for that little incident on Friday of course," I quickly amended, cringing slightly as I watched agony pool into Meiying's eyes. I sighed in relief when she smiled.

"Oh… thank you," She said quietly with a soft smile in place. I grinned back as I deposited the now crinkled, wrapped up, and empty paper bag and Meiying's empty, Styrofoam ramen bowl onto the jeep floor. Chozen rebuked me a disapproving look which I answered to with a shrug. The Japanese teen sighed before turning back to the wheel.

My eyes immediately begin to itch with wearily again. Though I had gotten five hours of sleep, I needed at least twelve in the past forty-six hours. I yawned widely, gazing around one last time at the landscape ahead of me, before drowsiness taking the better of me as I slyly (though she didn't protest) laid my head down in Meiying's lap. I closed my eyes with a slight smirk plastered on my face, pausing only to peek through one eye and see Meiying smiling and blushing profoundly.

With that happy motive, I swiftly fell into a deep slumber of sweet dreams, knowing no more.

* * *

"Oi! Munchkins! Wake up!" Chozen's slightly high-pitched, yet deep at the same time, voice rang out. Rubbing my eyes groggily, I yawned widely in perfect synchronization with Meiying as we both yawned and stretched.

I glanced up and saw the sun hadn't risen yet, there was still at least half-an-hour to go before even dawn. With a tired smile to Meiying, I wound our fingers together once more and reached for the door handle of the bottle green jeep.

"We're here, do say 'hi' to your families for me," Chozen grinned as we slowly filed out of the jeep.

"But they don't even know you!" Meiying pointed out. Chozen's smile faltered slightly as he leapt out of the car himself.

"Aw well, can't be helped. Happy journey, well, err, sort of, you too!" Chozen grinned, pulling a bewildered paired of pre-teens into a tight hug we returned willingly. "Hey, Cheng, I'll see you at your tournament. Where is it again?"

I gave him a quizzical look before answering.

"In Beijing," I said, waving my hands in an overly-dramatic matter.

"Beijing? Oh… well, Beijing huh? Quite a bit from Lulong, of course not as far as here…" The teen trailed off, leaving me and Meiying glancing at each other, both of our eyes portraying perplexity. What did he mean? This was the same distance to Beijing- heck, it was Beijing!

Right?

"Err, yeah, well, see you then! Happy journey!" I called to Chozen's retreating figure that waved once more before finally leaping into his snarling jeep.

Meiying and I watched the monstrous jeep chug its way up the narrow, asphalt path, gradually transforming into a glittering emerald pinprick, and finally disappearing from sight altogether.

I sighed.

"Home sweet home…" I grinned. A sharp tug on my sleeve made me turn to face Meiying.

"You know we're still in our sleeping things, right?" Meiying said pointedly with a grin on her face.

A sigh followed by a grin was my only reply.

"Anyway, I don't recognize this part of Beijing," Meiying muttered, gesturing to the shabby houses in front of us. It was pitch-black in the city, and not a sound was heard in sight except for the slight crunching of footsteps about… one mile away?

"Yeah, not to mention there's usually at least three or four houses or buildings that are exploding with noise and light, especially right before the Xǐshàijié Festival," I agreed in a monotone; slightly intimidated by the state of the city in front of me. "Well, it's probably just one of the slum parts of the city."

"I'm scared, Cheng," Meiying whimpered, cuddling close to my side. I openly welcomed her, wrapping my arms around her little, chipmunk body before laughing lightly and quietly.

"I said slums, not the ghetto," I grinned at Meiying, who's expression shut me up thereafter.

"All right, all right, no jokes," I grumbled.

"Since where is there a bridge leading out of China?" Meiying whispered urgently, pointing at a large, strangled structure that could only be the silhouette of a bridge.

"Oh my god, Cheng… I think… I think that's Daodang over there," Meiying said, her voice barely above a whisper. "How can that idiot possibly think we're… well… we're from… we look nothing like a N-…"

I ignored Meiying's babbling as a cold, sinking feeling dragged my heart to the bottom most pit of disparity. It was as if hell was brought to earth, and set right in front of us. Meiying was right; how could that foolish monk, Miyagi, mistake us for living here? We were obviously Chinese.

However, the cold feeling I felt for my own safety was nothing compared to the gut-wrenching, spine-crushing, heart-stopping, agonizing pain and fear I felt for Meiying. If one of us had to die here, it would be me- Meiying was definitely getting out of here. I would do everything in my power to make sure Meiying survived. However, just to confirm, I turned back to Meiying.

"Are you telling me that we're in…?" I trailed off, my suspicions and fears confirmed as Meiying gave my dreaded answer.

"Yep, Sinujiu, North Korea," Meiying answered in a hollow, monotone. Immediately, I clutched Meiying closer, and turned her away from the city as the footsteps grew closer… they were only six-tenths of a mile away now… I also noted that there were two sets of footsteps. I glanced at the now petrified, beautiful girl I held who obviously hadn't heard the footsteps yet.

Of course not; she had regular human senses.

"C'mon, we can make a run for it," I pleaded, my insanity and terror getting the better of me as I towed Meiying towards the bridge. A sharp tug on my right hand forced me to spin around and face my chipmunk.

"Cheng, there's no point in running, you know very well that there's no wall you can do a series of leaps over to get over that twenty-foot-tall fence. And even if you manage to do a straight jump up, you still won't be able to do it with me on your back," Meiying stated grimly… truthfully.

I felt my lips tighten into a straight line as I absorbed the impact of her words, nervously letting my eyes flick back towards the massive, onyx gate, no doubt made of rusting away steel one last time and sighing in defeat.

"Who says anything about you?" I joked lamely, the high-pitch from fear and my cracked voice ruining the joke. However, Meiying still gave a nervous giggle before shoving me and rolling my eyes; not realizing the immediate danger we were in.

The footsteps were pounding, sprinting now- only three-tenths of a mile away. I grinned at Meiying, trying to prevent her from realizing the immediate danger we were in- if we were going to die now, no need for her to expect it and be overly-anxious for it.

"C'mon, we can hide somewhere for the night, how bad can it be?" Meiying suggested in a choked whisper. I caressed her face lightly and kissed her hairline; mortified and aware this may be the last time I would get to see her.

The footsteps stopped, skidding to a halt not ten feet away from us, and I felt Meiying's eyes widen against my chest as she looked up at me. She mouthed, _You knew, didn't you? _

I nodded.

"It can be very bad, Meiyi," I whispered as we slowly revolved to face the two guards in front of us. I was careful to shuffle Meiying behind me, in case they had guns, but they were only armed with a small pocket knife, a bamboo stick, and a pistol that shot blanks- a desert eagle, I noted.

The two guards that stood in front of us were both wearing a pale beige sash that crossed diagonally from their right shoulder blade to the left side of their hips; each having a various number of shiny badges. Gray slacks and coats (remotely formal) clothed them, and I had just enough time to register the matching gray hats, masking the younger one's messy, ebony hair, and the older one's (noticeably more obese as well)… forehead (as he was nearly bald)neat, toothbrush moustache, as well as the Korean written across their right pant leg (북한의 존경 마이너 경비) before one of them addressed me.

"Eoi, neo! Wae dul-i yeogiseo mwohae?" The older, chubby one demanded. Meiying and I glanced at each other, mystified, before I turned my attention back to the guards, heavily aware of each of their slightest actions.

I immediately jerked my head (probably looking like some freak having a muscle spasm) towards the younger one when he turned his head towards the older one and murmured in his ear.

"Naneun geudeul-i hangugdago saeng-gaghaji anhseubnida. Geudeul-eun jung-gug-eo," The younger guard whispered to the older one who hissed back in the same, alien tongue before facing us.

"Shénme shì nǐmen liǎ zài zhèer gànshénme [What are you two doing here]?" The younger one asked in a gentle tone. I was remotely unsure of whether or not they were using the method of 'good cop, bad cop', but the younger one's hesitant, apologetic, and reluctant expression said it all. The older one was truly cruel, and obedient to Kim Jung Il, whilst the younger was probably forced into making the citizens or simply inhabitants of Sinujiu suffer.

I glanced at Meiying who grimaced in a sort of 'just-make-up-something' way.

"Wǒmen zài wán de biāoqiān, xiānshēng men, wǒmen bìng bù yìwèi zhe liúlián chū gùyì Daodang [We were playing tag, sir, we didn't mean to wander out of Daodang on purpose]," I lied anxiously, hoping the men would buy it. I once again thanked my luck, grateful that I was so good at lying through my teeth, while directly gazing into someone's eye. The younger one's face softened, and he opened his mouth, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding at the same time as Meiying, when the older one cut him off with a nasty grin.

"Zhè shì méiyǒu rènhé jièkǒu, zhǐyào nǐ méiyǒu tā de kuà biānjìng de jiāoyì tiáojiàn huò zhīhòu de jiāoyì shíjiān shì, nǐ duì wǒmen de cǎopí. Ràng wǒmen dài tāmen dào jiānyù, eh, Kyung-Soon [That's no excuse, once you cross the border without it being on trading terms or after trading hours, you're on our turf. Let's take them to the gulag, eh, Kyung-Soon]?" The older one grinned at Kyung-Soon, who looked shocked. Meiying opened her mouth to protest but I shook my head and muttered, "If you protest, they'll probably rape you or hurt you, and I don't know how long I can fight them off. But if it does come down to a fight, I want you to run."

Meiying gaped wordlessly at me while I said more forcefully, "Run."

After searching my eyes for a moment, Meiying nodded, clearly contradicting the idea in her mind.

A few moments later, I recalled that Kyung-Soon (though I didn't know much Korean, I remembered seeing the meaning once in a Korean library book) meant gentle and honorable. I could truly see it in his caring and innocent, and exceedingly apologetic, of all his actions, eyes.

"Dàn, Heng-Huai [But, Heng-Huai]," Kyung Soon began earnestly, before faltering under Heng-Huai's gaze; I also recalled that Heng-Huai meant brutal, violent, and evil. "Tāmen bù zhīdào, qǐng, jiù ràng tā qù, suǒyǒu de quánlì, yīqiè quánlì. Dànshì, zhèlǐ shì zuì jiējìn gǔ lā gé Bukchang gǔ lā gé, qízhōng chāoguò liù shí èr yīnglǐ shì cóng zhèlǐ [They didn't know, please, let it go- all right, all right. But the closest gulag to here is Bukchang Gulag, which is over sixty-two miles from here]!"

I rolled my eyes at the same time as Meiying; after _sprinting_, not running, not jogging, not walking, but _sprinting _a hundred-and-forty-five miles, sixty-two seemed like nothing, especially for a walk. But the guards paid no attention to us.

"Hǎo de, wǒmen huì dài tāmen zài bèi qūzhú chūjìng zhōngxīn, tāmen yīnggāi shòudào tàiyáng nàlǐ [Fine, we'll take them to the deportation center; they should be there by sun-up]," Heng-Huai grumbled.

There was complete silence for a few moments, as the moonlight illuminated our secluded space between the bridge and the city; casting shadows upon each of our faces so none of us could truly see any of each other's appearances. A cold, eerie whistle rang through the silence, and I swiftly murmured to Meiying, "I'm going to distract them, the moment I whisper 'now', I want you to back away so I can do my job. Then we're going to _run_."

"Wha-?" Meiying whispered, but I quickly hissed, "Now!"

Meiying was frozen with shock so I was forced to shove her away as gently yet swiftly as I could before I took the older one down with a sweep-kick. Kyung-Soon looked at me with an expression torn between amusement and a look that said 'I'm-rooting-for-you-to-escape-I-understand-if-you-need-to-hurt-me'. I nodded as subtly as I could as I delivered a light, easy, side-kick to Kyung's torso, and I thanked my luck he was a good actor, as he yelped in false pain. I quickly grabbed his arms and spun him in a circle (his expression was shocked as he realized I could carry someone of his weight before he grinned and mouthed the word, _Impressive_), knocking over poor (okay, I really didn't give a crap), unsuspecting Heng-Huai who had finally scrambled to his feet. I let go of Kyung, launching him onto Heng-Huai who looked as though he had the wind knocked out of him; Meiying and I were both relieved to see that Kyung was unharmed as he rolled off of his partner.

"I'm Cheng by the way!" I bellowed as I whirled around to face Meiying.

I grabbed Meiying's slender, little hand and sprinted in some direction as opposing and far away from Heng-Huai as possible. As I sprinted with my love in tow, I saw from my peripheral vision that in a lightning-fast movement Kyung-Soon had leapt up without using his hands. He looked at his unconscious partner, and I swore I saw him wink as he made no effort to pursue us and took his time to help up his partner.

"That was close, thank god he was unsuspecting- I've read that all the Korean guards are usually at least a third-degree black belt in Taekwondo," I hissed furiously to Meiying as I scooped her up bridal-style and leapt onto a random roof. Meiying clumsily clambered onto my back as I waited patiently before sprinting and leaping from roof-to-roof.

"Isn't that South Korean?" Meiying asked in a completely befuddled manner.

"Yeah, but who knows how many things Kim Jung Il has stolen from them, filthy dictator," I added under my breath, a ghost of a grin on my face as Meiying laughed. I stole off of a particularly high rooftop to a lower one, swiftly absorbing the impact on the balls of my feet before I continued.

"Anyway, the younger one, Kyung-Soon is on our side- right?" Meiying asked in a soft voice I found rather… attractive, as petrified as it sounded. I mentally smacked myself in the face for thinking about Meiying's appearance when she was in danger.

"Yep… Oh Jesus," I groaned, skidding to a halt and setting Meiying down behind a chimney as I stepped out and faced the two guards again; Kyung-Soon looking apologetic.

"Rènwéi nǐ kěyǐ táotuō róngyì, péngkè [Think you can get away _that _easy, punk]?" Heng-Huai snarled, the usual nasty grin erased from his face.

"Qíshí, wǒ. Yě yào qù zuò xiēshì [Actually, I do. Gonna' do something about it]?" I teased with a grin, whilst my eyes searched frantically for an alternative.

"Zěnyàng, pāishè, hào dà gōngfu duì táiquándào de cèshì fu [Well, big-shot, how about a test? Kung Fu against Taekwondo]?" Kyung-Soon offered though I saw the hesitance in his eyes.

I nodded and subtly kept my eyes directed at Kyung-Soon to show that I didn't mind that he had to hurt me. It would give us away if we hit each other gently or 'accidentally' missed. Sure, we did it back at in front of the bridge, but only because the impact of the fall probably rendered his brain thoughtless and disoriented his vision, so he wouldn't be able to tell. Not only that, but the light source was extremely dim.

"Gōngfu táiquándào cao tāmen kěyǐ nàhǎn [Kung Fu can whoop Taekwondo any day]," I retorted, shifting into a fighting stance at the same time as Heng-Huai and Kyung-Soon did.

**

* * *

(A/N: I do not support Cheng's statement at all, as traditional Taekwondo (not that sport Taekwondo crap, that's just sparring gone weird) is better and cooler than Kung Fu; people who do Taekwondo can do Kung Fu easily plus I'd like to see someone who goes to Kung Fu do a nine-hundred degree kick (a.k.a. a nine-hundred), a seven-twenty kick, a five-forty kick, or a 'twist'. On that… negative note, enjoy the rest of the chapter!)

* * *

**

Heng-Huai bared his yellowish, rotting set of canine fangs (I could hardly call them teeth) as he waited for me to throw the first move. Yelling as loudly as I could I charged at him, threw myself in mid air, and spun three-hundred-and-sixty degrees before hurtling a right hook at him. Heng-Huai rolled his eyes and stepped back at blurring speed, effortlessly dodging my blow. Both of our moves were so swift and hard for the eye to follow you'd think it was choreographed. Unfortunately, because of the lightning-fast speed I'd thrown my punch, I was unable to stop and my fist crashed into the pavement… tile… things of the roof of the building we were atop.

It felt as if I'd tried to break a cement brick as my knuckles pulsed with blood. I groaned in agony as I recoiled my aching, swelling hand; my veins were turning purple.

"Ow," I complained, before hurtling myself as swift as my legs would allow me back into a fighting stance. After a few times of shaking my stiff and aching fist I let out a deep growl at Heng-Huai who grinned and shrugged.

"Oh, _sorry_," He smirked sarcastically in English, waving his hands in artificial apology. I recognized this… wait, _I _did that to Dre. Huh. Who'd think I'd regret something I'd do to that munchkin.

I snarled at the older guard, backing up ever so slightly so I could hear Meiying's sobs and ragged breathing. Why was she crying; she was fine… right? Then I realized- she probably had seen me in pain. I'd prefer that I got wounded fatally and taken to the gulag than her injured at the slightest.

"Shì nǐ yào xuéhuì luàn zhōuwéi Sinujiu [That'll teach you to mess around in Sinujiu]," Kyung-Soon sneered, though the expression didn't touch his eyes.

The old fat man took advantage of my distraction and charged at me. I waited until the very last moment to analyze his attack. He leapt and did a three-sixty spin, tucked in his left leg, and threw out his right leg- a jump-spin-kick, I'd read about those in a Taekwondo handbook.

The blurring speed of the man's attack caught me off guard, but thankfully, I was able to dodge it by ducking. I dropped to my toes and caught him in a sweep kick as he landed. His face slammed straight into the tile and his torso made a noticeably loud thud against the pavement. A loud, sickening yet strangely satisfying crack was heard as his nose crashed into the rooftop.

I swear I saw Meiying's head peek around the chimney for a fraction of a second with a petrified expression on her face. She sighed in relief before winking seductively at me before she went back into hiding. I groaned; why did she have to do something like _that_?

Too bad I didn't notice Heng-Huai shout something to Kyung-Soon in Korean. I whirled around, having only enough time to register the fact that Kyung-Soon was pulling off a five-forty kick. He bounced back and forth, gaining momentum, before throwing his body. He took one step and threw his knee. His leg spun forward in a front-leg-spin-kick as he cut across, catching my jaw. He arched his back and landed gracefully on his right leg, his left leg slightly elevated like a ballerina before he stood in a fighting stance again.

I felt my face go numb as it was forced leftwards from the raw power of his kick. I wondered vaguely if a cement truck traveling at fifty-miles-per-hour would have the same amount of power… sixty-miles? Maybe more. I was surprised someone as skinny, lanky, and tall as Kyung-Soon would be so powerful, not to mentions someone as kind-hearted as him would be so ferocious.

Something dislodged in my mouth and I spit. Thankfully, they were the two baby teeth I'd been trying to lose since I turned twelve. My relief was quickly washed away as I noticed the huge wad of saliva mixed in with mucus that pooled the two teeth and when I tasted blood in my mouth.

_I'm so sorry_, Kyung-Soon mouthed sincerely, his face mortified as Heng-Huai cheered. I nodded subtly, and bellowed as I went in for a knife-hand attack to his neck. He blocked it easily with an in-to-out block and delivered a side-kick in between my pectoral and my abdomen muscles.

I flew back a few feet before skidding on my heels. Heng-Huai sprinted towards me but I easily caught him with an elbow to the gut and a back-hand blow to his face. He clutched his face and moaned in pain and agony as he staggered backwards.

"Hey, just 'cause you're on my side doesn't mean I won't fight dirty," I grinned at Kyung-Soon. His eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened- an expression of total perplexity. My eyes searched frantically before my eyes settled on a stack of cement bricks, my entire body relaxing. Kyung-Soon, who hadn't seen the bricks but saw me relax tensed immediately.

I sprinted as fast as the sore, beaten muscles in my calves and lower thighs would allow me to. Swiftly, I tossed two bricks in each hand before launching them at Kyung. His eyes widened as I carefully adjusted each brick so that one flew at his shins and one soared towards his head.

Unfortunately, I underestimated our 'ally-rival, friend, person… thing'. He took a few steps, gracefully spinning on one of them, before dipping down into a front stance and shifting the front stance to his front leg, his arms swaying with him. He twisted his hips and launched himself into the air; he arched his back in mid air as his arms snapped around him and to his sides, his legs spinning wildly.

I grumbled; Kyung-Soon just pulled off a butterfly twist. But before I could mope, Kyung threw a jump-side-kick at my face. His foot connected with my jaw and I felt blood soar from my mouth as I bit my tongue and another tooth sailed. The numbness had just began to go away when mind-numbing and heart-shattering pain took over. I groaned, unable to do anything.

"Cheng! I'm so sorry, are you okay? Cheng! I'll make sure the people at the gulag take you a hospital or something first! You hear me? I'm sorry, man!" Kyung-Soon pleaded, a somber expression on his face before he straightened up and sneered (Heng-Huai had just come to and clapped Kyung on the shoulder with a gleeful expression on his face).

Meiying squealed and stopped hiding. I groaned in a mixture of pain and disappointment.

"I thold you doth tho thome outh of hiding," I moaned. Meiying shook her head, tears sailing as her single, messy (but adorable, and I could appreciate that even in this agony) ponytail whipped her face.

"Not when you're hurt like this Cheng…I…" Meiying sobbed, beginning to say something but cutting of with a larger sob. She bit her lower lip which had began to wobble uncontrollably. She kissed my broken jaw tenderly and caressed the right side of my face.

"It'll be okay Cheng," Meiying cooed. I gingerly grasped her hand.

"I know, Meiyi. As long as you get out fine, my whole world will be calm, and… make everything okay," I agreed, kissing her hand softly, passionately.

"No, you listen to me, Cheng Zhuang Sun, you are coming with me. You'll be just fine," Meiying disagreed in nearly a snarl. This appalled me and I gazed up into her intense hazel eyes, extremely shocked.

Kyung-Soon who had been watching the sentimental moment with a small, timid smile grinned widely. However, Heng-Huai, who had been watching with a stupidly amused expression growled.

"Oh, once you're here, you're not going anywhere. And I'll get a few tastes of your little flower too," The older one grinned, revealing his set of rotting teeth before winking at Meiying who cringed. I leapt up hastily, and stood in front of Meiying.

"Over my dead body," I growled, only just noticing how small Heng-Huai was. I could easily see over his head, so I let my sable eyes bore into his disgusting, filthy, onyx ones which I noticed, had a slightly manic, faint crimson glow around the irises.

"Um, why don't you take Ch- the male," Kyung-Soon stammered, correcting himself as he stepped between us. He couldn't let his partner know he had defected.

"I'll take the female," Kyung-Soon continued, more confidently this time since he didn't have to lie as he didn't know Meiying's name. I sighed in relief at the same time as Meiying. However, Heng-Huai was too ignorant and thick to notice and also was oblivious to the fact that Kyung winked at us.

With a wide grin he clapped Kyung-Soon on the back and bellowed, "Ah, so you want a chance with the lady! That's fine, you deserve a chance, young 'un."

Kyung nodded with a sheepish grin but rolled his eyes when Heng-Huai turned away and stuck his tongue out childishly. Meiying and I avoided each other's eye for fear of bursting out laughing. Gingerly and keeping as much space between them as possible, Kyung-Soon held Meiying's arms behind her back and waited patiently for Heng-Huai.

Heng-Huai rummaged for something in his sash and pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs. I groaned and held my hands out behind me. Hands rougher than I'd expected gripped my wrists tightly before some loose, cool yet stiff, bonding material gripped my hands. I dropped my hands and found that the chain between the handcuffs were loose enough so I could spread my hands at least three or four feet apart.

Grumbling about sizes only for fat people (I was unsure why someone as obese as him would complain), I heard him rummage through something. I had time to register Meiying's gasp and Kyung-Soon grit his teeth as Heng-Huai forced the bamboo stick through one of the holes in the chain and force it upwards, rotate it once, and slam it against my head. My hands immediately moved to where my shoulder blades connected with my spine and my shoulder and upper back muscles felt as though they would tear; the muscles were probably already sprained, and I was sure they were torn now.

But that was nothing compared to the pain in the back of my head. My head, already tender and aching from falling so much and being struck, seemed to explode in anguish as the bamboo stick slammed and made harsh impact to the back of my skull.

"NO! Leave Cheng alo-!" Meiying began, and through my squinted eyes and moans, I could see that she had begun crying again.

"Shh," Kyung-Soon murmured only for her, but he shot me an apologetic look and I could see the torture at seeing another in pain and burning resentment in his eyes.

"Zhè jiùshì nǐ dédào punk hé zhè zhǒng fāngshì; nín kěyǐ táotuō dūn [That's what you get punk; this way you can't escape]," The old, stout guard proclaimed as though he had just proven the biggest news in the world wrong.

"Ahh," I gasped, unable to do or say anything as the two guards lead us off the rooftop and through the city's streets; Heng-Huai none too gently.

"Cheng," Meiying murmured after a moment, walking slightly closer to me.

"Yeah?" I groaned, my head still pulsing. Meiying, unable to provide any sort of physical comfort, rubbed my cheek with her own. I almost laughed with glee, if it weren't for the fact that we were held captive in North Korea.

"Your Master was right, wasn't he? Our life… it's hanging on by a thread, isn't it?" Meiying asked in a quiet tone. I contemplated this for about a fraction of a second before responding.

"Yep."

**

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A/N: Yay! I updated quicker this time! So what did you think? A bit rushed I know, but guess what? This chapter finally broke the ten-thousand word count (In fact, it's eleven-thousand words)! Woo-hoo! Milestone achieved for this story! Anyway, please review, and tell me if I should let them go soon, or later. Well, I guess it **_**has **_**to be soon since this fanfic is based on the movie, so… never mind. Please review anyway!**

**Always Grateful,**

**-John**

**P.S. Not all Korean names **_**have **_**to be two words with a hyphen (-) in the middle. I only picked those names because they described the characters I chose; most Korean names are only one word anyway. **

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Oh, and the non-translated words are here: **

**Eoi, neo! Wae dul-i yeogiseo mwohae?**

**Hey, you! What're you doing here?**

**Naneun geudeul-i hangugdago saeng-gaghaji anhseubnida. Geudeul-eun jung-gug-eo.**

**I don't think they speak Korean. They look Chinese.**

**북한의****존경****마이너****경비**

**Honorary Minor Guards of North Korea**

**And as for that Chinese phrase to which Cheng and Meiying disagreed on… tell me what you think it is in a review, 'cause I ain't spilling. **


	10. Final Author's Note

**A/N: Hey, I can't say I'm sorry. But… it would be rude not to say so, but still, I feel no regret in ending this story. Honestly, it wasn't following the original plot at all and it was too much pressure to keep up with your demands. I considered ending this story a while ago, but your reviews were so kind and heart-warming, I wanted to keep you guys satisfied. Anyway… this is my final author's note to you guys for this story. Let's wrap it up… **

"_It's over. You can all go home. It's over… so over."_

**Impassive,**

**-John**

**P.S. I'll miss you all, forever.**

**P.S.S. I realize that I didn't like the idea of The Karate Kid, but would anyone like me to write The Karate Kid II and The Karate Kid III? I realize that I have fallen in love with the idea of that as the plot of the story is original and all _MINE_. Not the characters, of course, but I could basically do anything I want with it, and I have a perfect idea in mind for it. Please leave in a review if you'd like me to work on TKK II. If you've already reviewed, just review with the anonymous thing.**


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